CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESHonda Indy 200 at Mid-OhioMid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, OhioQualifying Report July 5 The Arrow McLaren duo of Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and Nolan Siegel in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet will lead Team Chevy to the green flag for the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday afternoon. Lundgaard’s outside front row matches the best of the season for the Danish driver, who also qualified second at The Thermal Club. The 90-lap race will be the fifth time he starts in the front three rows this season. Siegel’s fourth-place qualifying effort is the best of his short career and the second time he has advanced to the Firstone Fast Six in 2025. Lundgaard, with a lap at 65.2835 seconds, was over three-tenths of a second quicker than his competitors in the first qualifying group, and was joined by Siegel and Christian Rasmussen in the No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet in advancing to the Fast 12. In the second group, the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet, with Alexander Rossi behind the wheel, transferred to the Fast 12, in a group that saw positions six through twelve seperated by less than 0.05 seconds. The Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio will air on Sunday (July 6) at 1:30 pm (Eastern) on FOX, following the NTT INDYCAR SERIES morning warm-up on FS1 at 9:30 am (Eastern).

TUNE IN ALERT Sunday NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up – 9:30am (ET)/8:30am (CT)/7:30am (MT)/6:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (90 laps) – 1:30pm (ET)/12:30pm (CT)/11:30am (MT)/10:30am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 NTT INDYCAR SERIES QUALIFYING RESULTS FOR THE INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES): Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified 2nd: The last few races, we’ve tried to think about the long game and try to be focused on a better tire strategy going into the race. I think this weekend, we felt we didn’t need to do that, so we knew that could go for it. It wasn’t quite enough. That No. 10 car seems to be too strong.  Is it going to be fun to challenge Palou? Do you want to put pressure on him? We had Nolan (Siegel) in the Firestone Fast Six. He had an incredible qualifying, I think the best for him in INDYCAR. Proud of him for that, but that also means we have an extra car. I know they have Kyffin (Simpson) as well, so it will be a two-team battle.  Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified 4th:  I’m happy. P4 and running the used reds. I think we could have given a Christian (Lundgaard) a run for the front row on new reds, which would have been fun. Really happy to be starting fourth. Best INDYCAR starting position and nice to be in the fast six again. We’ve had a few rough weekends and things are really turning around. We’ve got some new faces on the No. 6 Arrow McLaren/NTT Data Chevrolet, but it’s all working well.  On the addition of Kyle Moyer Obviously, this is a great start to our relationship. I had never met Kyle until the setup day for our Iowa test on Tuesday. Really happy to have Kyle on board. Not just on this stand, but in general. Having him on the radio with me and on the stand, and having Scott Harner as oversight, we’ve got great experienced people on this stand. We’ve got a great mix of youth and experience. With Kate (Gundlach) in her first year as a race engineer. Eric’s (performance engineer) first weekend was my first weekend with the team at Laguna. We’ve got young people that are hungry for it and experienced proven faces, so obviously excited for the rest of the year.  Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet qualified 10th: “It is wildly tight. I was fairly happy with my lap. I made a small mistake in, in turn nine, which cost us a little bit. So I think it maybe could have been a little bit better, but don’t know if we had it much for the fastest six. I don’t know. But, feeling good with the car balance. We’re just working away. We’ve been fairly okay all weekend long. So I have that six grid penalty for for tomorrow, so that’s gonna put us back a little bit. So I’m glad that we at least made it into the fast 12 so we don’t start all the way at the back. I feel good about my car.” Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet qualified 12th: Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet qualified 13th: “I was just trying to hustle so much out of the first set of reds. We just kind of missed the the tire pressure window. And, for us it seemed to be just lap two was the only one that was going to work and and just in turn six I tried just too hard to get too much out of it and I mean we’re talking three- hundreds, right? So, it was a pretty mighty lap other than that. I mean we picked up almost seven-tenths from the run before. Just thankful for this team and we’ve been slowly getting there. Road America, we were like two seconds off the pace. So, this is a good step forward for us on the road course package and and we’re certainly in the fight for tomorrow.”  David Malukas, No. 4 Clarience Technologies/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet qualified 14th:  “So really unfortunate. We actually did a really good job getting the car where it needed to be. Went to the top of the hill to finish off the lap in eight, and we had a little bit of a fuel pressure issue and it kind of shut down on us. So probably about half a second on top of that hill, whatever it may be, and we didn’t transfer by 1,000ths of a second (.0117 second). Really unfortunate, because we were there. The guys did a fantastic job, the whole crew, everybody, to get it there. But these things happen. And I think it comes down to us missing practice one, not being able to do the alternate tire to test all these things. So it’s a little bit of a guessing game, trying to go in fresh. Still kind of circles back to my mistake in the beginning of the weekend, but we’re starting off P-13. I think when everything filters out (with one car receiving an unapproved engine change penalty), so we’ll be on the inside row for four which I think is better. Outside of four is a bit scary, plus we have an extra set of new tires compared to everybody in front of us! So you know what? We planned this! (joking)” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet qualified 15th: “We’ve had a really fast car all weekend. Gapping issues in Q1 kept us from advancing. It’s a shame because we had the pace, so now we get to have fun from the back tomorrow.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Sexton Properties/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet qualified 17th: “I think as a group, we’d be qualifying better than seventeenth at the moment; just unfortunately missing a ton of rotation mid-corner for myself. I thought I drove well, and engineering, they’re doing a great job. The car felt really quick, but it’s also just really tight time-wise. We’ve got to figure out what we’re missing to get up to the top step in quals. But I have a feeling that our race car is going to be good, and we’ll continue to move forward.” Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet qualified 18th:  “Honestly, we were just on the wrong side of close there. The PPG Chevy was great and the traffic was obviously better with the split groups in the first round. It’s just that this series is very tight and it doesn’t take much to end up where we did without having any issues.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet qualified 19th: “I felt like we had a really good car today. The field is just so tight that, like, little things make a big difference, and I feel like we could have transferred if I just finished the last few turns on our lap. So it’s unfortunate that we’re starting where we’re starting, because we have a really good car.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet qualified 21st: “I was getting held up. You get into a bad spot, you have to back off and you can’t use the tire at the right spot. I’m really bummed for the Odyssey Battery team. I generally feel like it should have been easy to transfer there. It’s pretty bad.” Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet qualified 22nd:  On getting clear track during qualifying? “Much much better. There’s only 12 cars on track. Oh, man-our whole season would be different if we just had half-a-tenth in a bunch of qualifying sessions this year.” “Which goes to show how competitive this series is. When you get it right, it’s rewarding. But when you get it even just that little bit wrong, it can bite you. Not even what you feel is wrong. Like, there’s no mistakes in there. But, when you go from p six to P12 was on the same tenth, it’s amazing. It shows the series, man. It’s no joke.” On different strategies with the extra set of red tires? “I think so. It definitely is nice that we saved some reds and, maybe we do something else, some sort of a different strategy. We’ll see how it plays out tomorrow.” Callum Ilott, No, 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet qualified 24th: “It was a super tight qualifying, we missed out by half a tenth to the top six in the Group and we were P12. So, it was an incredibly tight group. I think we just drew the short straw on that one. If we were in the other group, we were transferring with time. The car was good on reds, but we still have a bit of work to do to find time on blacks. We’ve improved quite a bit; it’s just a shame that the result of the position doesn’t show the improvement that we have made throughout the weekend.” Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet qualified 27th: “I struggled incredibly with the car so far this weekend. From yesterday to today the car, we made a lot of changes but it’s still not quite where we want it to be. We took the risk; it didn’t work out. In my run I also had traffic, but even then, if I did do a lap I was quite far away. We will look to understand why we have these things happening and why especially we’re struggling so much on the road courses. We’ll be starting from the back tomorrow, the task in the race is to work on finding a better balance and to have the right strategy. We hope to make some places up but today was a difficult one.”

Christian LundgaardPress Conference THE MODERATOR: Joined by Christian Lundgaard, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet with his second front-row starting position of the season, matching a second-place starting spot at Thermal. Best starting position here at Mid-Ohio in now his fourth start at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Tell us about your qualifying session, Christian. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, pretty straightforward I would say. Really wasn’t the most entertaining. I think we were one of the few cars that decided to run a new set of primes in Q1 and Q2 as a bank lap. We knew we were going to be on the alts anyway, so we were in debate if we were going to use the third set or not. We ended up doing that in the Fast Six. Yeah, the worst that could happen was we started sixth, so at least we’re in a good spot to fight for it tomorrow. Q. For both of you guys, I know you both mentioned that you used three sets of reds during qualifying. I look at a guy like Kyle Kirkwood who just barely missed out on the Fast Six who only used two sets and has an extra set to use tomorrow. Some guys that have that extra set of new reds, what kind of an impact could that potentially make in how tomorrow’s race plays out? ALEX PALOU: Even Kyffin has — he’s starting third and he has one more set of alternates than us. It’s big. It’s big. It’s a huge advantage. We were debating. I think everybody was in the same boat of do we try and shoot for pole, start up front, try and keep position during the first couple stints and then try and be okay, or do we give the pole away or fighting for pole away and start from fifth or sixth. So we decided to go that route. But yeah, he’s starting third on another set of alternates. I think Siegel — CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think Siegel has two alts, too. ALEX PALOU: So there’s three guys that have better tires than us. CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I kind of agree with that. Q. Christian, he doesn’t work directly with you but he directly works over all of the drivers at Arrow McLaren, Kyle Moyer seems to have been an instant success with Nolan Siegel. From what you’ve seen of what Kyle brings to the team, what is it that helps benefit the operation? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: From my side there is really no difference. Really whatever goes on behind the scenes, I think, is sometimes also some of the stuff that us drivers don’t really — we mind our business, and he’s on the 6 car, so he helps Nolan, but I don’t think anything is different for me this weekend. The 7 car has had the speed all year, and there’s been weekends where we’ve executed and we haven’t, and I don’t think this has really made a difference for us. I think that’s too early to say. Q. Hot start for you for the season, kind of up and down since. Is this kind of the reset button to start the second half, do you feel that coming into this weekend, especially knowing this team won here last year? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, obviously we’re going to try to replicate that. But no, I think ultimately we’ve had a very good season with ups and downs, as you mentioned, but there’s so much good and there’s very little bad and obviously the small mistakes are expensive in this kind of championship. We see the run that Alex has been on as well. Someday it’s going to be someone else, and I think we all know that. It’s kind of trying to grind on that momentum, and we’ve been a little out of it, I think, in certain parts it’s been expectations. In other parts it’s just been simple, stupid mistakes that have cost dearly. I think this weekend is just trying to replicate what we were doing at Road America but just do it better. Q. We saw some big names out early on in qualifying and some of the younger guys are going to be starting further up the front. How much of a difference do you think it’s going to make in the race starting with a bit of a mixed-up grid? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, I don’t know. I feel like there’s more and more young drivers that are kind of showing potential, I would say, throughout this year, and I think Kyffin is definitely one of them. He’s been very competitive lately. I know what Nolan is capable of. I know he’s fast, and it’s nice to finally see him do it this weekend, get into the Firestone Fast Six. But racing in the front is kind of a different animal, and I think Alex will agree with this. As soon as you’re starting to check out, it’s the small details that matter. Some of them haven’t been exposed to that in the past, and that’s why I think you see the veterans always kind of making their way forward in the race even if they’re having a bad qualifying. Q. Just curious how the Iowa test went last week and what’s the challenge going to be to do back-to-back races there next week? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: It’s going to be hot. I mean, I don’t know. I think all of us are going to think that it’s going to be very similar to last year, in a sense, and even with the race being a little longer than last year, I still think we’re going to see a pretty straightforward single-lane race. At least that’s my opinion. Do you disagree? Q. You said you have one set of new red tires, but you still have used reds for tomorrow’s race. If you’re on the blacks, though, is there anything you can do to defend from someone on the reds, maybe used Push-to-Pass or the hybrid or together because I don’t think it’s that easy to pass here? CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I think it depends. I don’t know, did you see that big of a difference between the tires? I was surprised how big of a difference there was on a new set of alts versus a used set. We didn’t really run a used set but we saw the difference from the other cars, and I think that helped us make the decision to put a third set on in the Fast Six. But how they’re going to do in the race, I don’t think we really know yet. I think some cars are very strong on primes, some cars are very strong on alts. Again, I think you can make both strategies work.

Josh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang Dark Horse are set to start 29th in Sunday’s Grant Park 165, which will be contested on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn course through the streets of Chicago. Berry took that spot with lap at 86.416 miles per hour on the second of three laps he ran during qualifying on Saturday afternoon.That represented a significant increase in speed from practice earlier in the day.Among drivers who ran 10 consecutive green flag laps, Berry was 10th fastest, averaging 83.511 mph from the second through the 11th lap he ran.Sunday’s 75-lap, 165-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern) with Stage breaks planned for Laps 20 and 45. TNT will carry the TV coverage.

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING REPORT JULY 5, 2025

Team Chevy Qualifies One-Two-Three

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

·        Returning to the circuit that started his NASCAR career, Shane van Gisbergen started his double-duty weekend by driving Chevrolet to a sweep of the pole wins for the Chicago Street Race weekend. The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race winner laid down a monster best-lap of 89.656 seconds in his No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to earn the pole position for the third rendition the event.   ·        Van Gisbergen’s pole – his third all-time in NASCAR’s top division – came after he drove the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to the pole position for the 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, natives first start of the season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Van Gisbergen is the last driver to sweep the pole wins in a doubleheader weekend for NASCAR’s top-two division – accomplished at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in 2024.   ·        Van Gisbergen led the Bowtie brigade to a sweep of the top-three starting positions with the pair of Spire Motorsports teammates, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, driving their Chevrolet-powered machines to second- and third-place qualifying efforts, respectively.  ·        Having to qualify her way into tomorrow’s Grant Park 165, Katherine Legge drove her No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet to a best-lap of 92.368 seconds to earn her spot in the starting lineup for tomorrow’s event – making her the first woman to make a start in NASCAR’s top division at the Chicago Street Course.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUPPOS.     DRIVER 1st – Shane van Gisbergen2nd – Michael McDowell3rd – Carson Hocevar6th – Kyle Busch 10th – Austin Dillon Chevrolet’s season statistics heading into the 20th NASCAR Cup Series race: Wins: 7Poles: 9Top-Fives: 37Top 10s: 76Stage Wins: 16

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – Pole Win QuotesWhere did you find that extra time when you went back out? “Yeah, that was epic! Our team did a great job. The No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet was ripping really good. I’m a lucky boy, I’ve got some great cars today — both the Cup and Xfinity car. This is pretty special. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow. Practice wasn’t that great for us, but when we went out for qualifying, the car felt really good. We turned in two pretty good laps.” We heard you mention that the field has picked up its game. How do you do that for yourself? How do you up your game? “You can always do something better, right? You’re always learning. I learned a lot in the Xfinity Series car this morning, and that just gives you a great leg up for the Cup car. I think it’s great running both cars, it certainly helps.”  Katherine Legge, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet “It’s a lot of pressure to come in with only 20 minutes of practice on a street course where there’s no room for error to put it in the show. I actually feel pretty good about it now. We would have been a lot faster, I think, had I not kept nicking the wall. I’ve given my crew a lot of work to do from that, but we had to keep pushing to put it in the show. I’m really proud of this team, and I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow.”    Shane van Gisbergen and Michael McDowell – Front-Row Press Conference QuotesHow did you feel about your car’s race trim? Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, my practice went okay. It’s very hot, so it’s slick out there at the times. They’re a lot slower than previous years. My car felt pretty good. I probably took it too easy. I had too much left at the end of practice, but yeah, I feel like my race car was pretty good. I liked a few things, and then in qualifying, I sharpened it up. My first lap was a pretty good banker and I knew I had a lot left. And then the next lap went pretty decent… probably had two- or three-tenths left, and pretty cool to lay it down.”  We saw quite a few drivers making mistakes or coming close to making mistakes today. Can you describe how on edge you guys are, and how little margin of error may be out there? Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, I think that’s the temperature. We’re over a second off, I think, from what we managed last year. The track’s just treacherous, and when it’s that hot and slick, the margin for error is just so small. On a track like this with no run-offs, you’ve really got to be — like I hit the wall two or three times, I think, on my qualifying lap. You’ve got to be that accurate and that close to the walls, and you have no margin left. I don’t blame the guys crash, it’s a very, very tough track, this one.”  You guys mentioned the heat, but how do you feel like the track looks compared to the last two years – similar or different, anything stand out to you guys? Van Gisbergen: “It’s the same for me.” McDowell: “Yeah, I think everything looks the same. I mean, for a street course, it’s miraculous how good they get the corners the same every year. I think some of that is because there’s some hard stops too, right, like there’s curves on the other side, and street markers there that kind of get it that way. There’s a couple little bumps that are slightly bigger, but for the most part, it’s the same. They do a good job of having the barriers in the same spot. Visual references — I feel like they’re the same. In the first couple of years, it was a little different. But I felt like this was really consistent.”  Brad Keselowski was saying that he thought there were areas of the track that were repaved last year, and they’re just much more treacherous this year…Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, I think it’s turn 12, turn 1, it’s lost a little grip and some color. But I still think that they’re the highest grip parts of the track. And there’s no bumps there, so yeah, I find it okay.” McDowell: “I think, overall, the day was just hotter. I mean we were about a second slower in qualifying and in rac, , so everywhere was a bit slicker. But yeah, there’s some new asphalt that we have to use too on the inside of turn 11. I don’t know — well SVG will use it for passing, he did last year there. But that’s about the only spot I feel like that’s much different.”  You two were among the fastest at Mexico, so are either of you surprised that the other one’s on the front row with you?McDowell: “I’m not surprised at all. As Jeff Gluck said this morning, asking what I was going to do to beat SVG, obviously I didn’t do enough… he still got me about a half second there (laughs). We still got some work to do, but our race trim was good. Tomorrow will be a mixed bag with potential weather in and out, so a lot of variables to go out there and navigate.” Van Gisbergen: “He (Michael McDowell) is a good road course racer. But you never know in NASCAR. There’s 15 guys that can turn up on a road course, and that’s the beauty of this series. Everyone’s so good, so you never know on a given weekend who’s going to be the challenger, so I’m not really surprised by anything in this sport.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 5, 2025

Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and defending winner of the Chicago Street Race, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at the Chicago Street Course.

Media Availability Quotes:  WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HAVE BEEN IN CHICAGO, THE WIN LAST YEAR, AND REALLY JUST WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND?  “Yeah, for sure. This is a super fun event. Always look forward to it just from the standpoint of it’s so different than what we normally do, right? Like we do a lot of the same thing for most of the year. So, you know, walking through the city to get to the racetrack, kind of the lack of having buses and being in hotels with the teams and stuff like that, makes it different and a little more enjoyable. And then the challenge of a street course in general is super fun. So very technical, very little room for error. Yeah, and then obviously got here Thursday morning and had a little media tour, went to an animal shelter with Bob, tried to get Bob to adopt a dog. I think his wife is now trying to get him to adopt a dog as well. Super fun. Don’t try to get Bob to take a photo with you because he gets really mad. And, yeah, it was fun. It’s been a good time so far, so I’m ready to, I feel like I’ve been here for a year, so I’m ready to get on the racetrack.” ALEX, AFTER YOU WON THIS RACE LAST YEAR, I GUESS THE PERCEPTION WAS, HEY, MAYBE THIS SAVED YOUR JOB. YOU GUYS, JEFF GORDON, EVERYBODY’S LIKE, NO, ALEX, IS GOOD. I HAVE A CONTRACT. LOOKING BACK NOW, HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THIS VICTORY WAS TO CONTINUING AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS FOR THE FUTURE? “Yeah, I mean, I think there was a lot of rumors started by people that maybe don’t really know what they’re talking about in a sense, but at the same time, you know, I think it was really important to make the Playoffs and to finish the year strong, right? Like, we were able to have a really strong Playoff run. A little drama there that kind of ruined it, but you know, in general, like we did a really good job through the Playoffs, did what we needed to do. Wish we could have gone further, but we didn’t. So yeah, I mean, I think that was just important in general for the race team to end the season strong and obviously, you know, start this year strong as well, which I feel like we’ve been able to do. Had a rough two months there, but the last couple of weeks have been good for us and things are pointing in the right direction. So yeah, I think it was just important for the team, and it was definitely a good day for us.”  HOW MUCH DOES THE THREAT OF RAIN CHANGE YOUR STRATEGY DURING PRACTICE OR QUALIFYING AND TRYING TO SET UP THE CAR FOR YOUR BALANCE?  “Yeah, it’s difficult because I feel like most things that you would do for the car in the rain, are really going to hurt the car in the dry so trying to manage that the best you can and understand what those things are what the weather is really going to do. There have been so many times that we’re sure it’s going to rain and it doesn’t rain and sure it’s not going to rain it does rain so I wish I could be wrong about my job as much as the weatherman. But yeah I mean I think it’s continued to look like more rain tomorrow, so certainly have to be cognizant of it and, kind of know where we need to be with the race car to capitalize on that. You still have to qualify in the dry and probably looks like maybe start the race in the dry, so going to need to have a compromise of both worlds for sure.” INAUDIBLE QUESTION “Yeah, for sure. I think it’s a very important market for the teams and for all the partners involved. I would love to keep coming back here. I think this place is a lot of fun. I would also love to go back to Chicagoland and run the oval. I think that track would present huge challenges with a next-gen car with how rough it is. I’m sure it’s only gotten rougher. So, yeah, it would be a huge challenge but obviously would be a lot of fun. I think with those challenges typically come some pretty exciting races, and unique things.  So, yeah I love coming up here and hopefully we can continue to do that um obviously none of us know what the schedule does or doesn’t look like but um I think street course racing is super fun and that track’s cool as well.” IF WE GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, WHERE WOULD YOU WANT THAT TO BE? “Gosh I don’t know. I think there’s a lot of cool places I feel like you could put a street course. Obviously, there’s a lot of rumors flying right now about where that will or won’t be. I think the street course thing has been really fun from the driving aspect of it.  Just because it’s so technical like trying to make lap time around this place is so hard. So I’ve really enjoyed it, I think there’s a lot of great places you could put it. I think you could rotate it around. You could do a lot of different things. So, I think continuing with the street course on the schedule is pretty important.” YOU HAVE A BUBBA WALLACE MATCHUP THIS WEEK. YOU GUYS OBVIOUSLY HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY FROM HERE LAST YEAR. DOES THAT ADD TO THE MATCHUP, AND IS THAT KIND OF WHY THIS IN-SEASON THING WAS CREATED, TO HAVE THESE TYPE OF SUBPLOTS ON THESE RACES?  “Yeah, I mean, I don’t know that it adds to it. Maybe we’ll get on stage and, like, fake fight like AJ and Michael did last week. But, no, I think he and I are totally good. But yeah, I mean, he’s been really fast here in the past. Like, you don’t tend to think of him as a road course guy, but here last year, he was really fast. So, definitely going to be a tough one, but yeah, I think, you know, adding excitement, it’s probably more for the fans, right? And from where I sit, like, I just try to go to work and do the best I can throughout the weekend and kind of not super focused on it. Obviously, I think if we get down to the final round, you’ll probably fixate on it a little bit more. But if it gives the fans something to talk about and be excited about, I think it’s really good.” WHERE ARE YOU ON THE PLAYOFF LEVEL AND HOW YOU WON THIS RACE LAST YEAR? DO YOU FEEL THERE’S ANY SIMILARITY WITH HOW YOU’RE COMING INTO THIS RACE? AND THEN WINNING, DO YOU HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE THAT YOU CAN COME BACK AND DO IT AGAIN?  “As far as confidence coming into this race, like, I feel like we’re plenty capable. Like, we’re typically pretty good at the road courses, have a lot of confidence coming into these places. You know, obviously the weather looks similar, so that adds a layer of confidence. I thought we were pretty good in the rain. We were really good as it started to kind of dry out and get patchy. So, yeah, I think we’re definitely confident. Hopefully it’s dry. I feel like the fans here deserve to just get a normal race, and I think we could put on a great show in the dry. Probably a little better than we do in the rain. But, yeah, we’ll have to wait and see.” ALEX, HOW DO YOU MANAGE THIS PRACTICE SESSION? IT SEEMS LIKE XFINITY HAS BEEN PRETTY EVENTFUL WITH GUYS PUSHING AND GETTING IN THE TIRE BARRIERS. BUT WITH SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, RIDE QUALITY IS HUGE. WHAT’S ON YOUR CHECKLIST AS FAR AS THIS PRACTICE SESSION?  “Yeah, I think qualifying is massively important here. So, trying to make pace early, understand what you need for your car in qualifying and have the ability to make pace to lay down a lap there is really important. And then you know trying to figure out where your long run stuff is with longevity of the rear tires. Obviously, the next gen car really burns the rears off more than the fronts kind of different than the Xfinity car.  I think the Xfinity practice was a little bit chaotic last year too, so hopefully Cup practice is a little calmer and hopefully we’re on the good side of all that. I think that just shows how difficult this track is and how easy it is to you know overstep the line at a at a street course. Like it’s so narrow, so bumpy, and it’s only continuing to get rougher and rougher.  Chad Knaus looked at me like I was dumb when I said it got rougher. He’s like, ‘of course it did, it’s Chicago. There was a winter here, like it’s going to continue to get rougher every year’.  So, yeah I think it’s going to be tough but hopefully we’re on the good side of it.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 5, 2025

Ty Dillon, driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at the Chicago Street Course.

Media Availability Quotes:  LAST WEEK WAS A BIG RACE FOR YOUR TEAM AND YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE IN THE IN-SEASON CHALLENGE. MAYBE JUST HIT ON LIKE LAST WEEK IN GENERAL, BUT ALSO WHAT IT WOULD MEAN FOR YOUR TEAM TO BE ABLE TO PULL THAT OFF.  “Yeah, you know, obviously we’re quite overlooked going into that race, probably rightfully so coming in as a 32 seed against a one seed. But I think we’re pretty confident coming in. We’ve been running strong in a lot of these races and just haven’t been able to finish them out. And part of getting the recognition is finishing out the race is strong. It doesn’t really always matter if you’re running up front at most the race. Most people are just paying attention to the end result. Our race at Talladega earlier in the year was really strong and probably would have finished in the top 10 there. And I think that was a bit overlooked as well. And I knew we were going to be able to put pressure on Denny last week, and it wasn’t a place that he’s really pumped about racing around the last couple of years. But you know, he was going to put up a good fight by the end of the race. And I think whether he was in that crash or not, we were going to give him a good fight for knocking them out. So it was big for us. Our Kaulig Racing team, big for our sponsors, to have that moment, have kind of a fun moment after the race with Denny and his fans. Just carrying some good momentum in here to Chicago, a place that I’ve only raced at once. I came and spotted for my brother here last year in the rain. And so, I enjoy road course racing. I enjoy this unique style of it. And I think it’s another opportunity for our Sea Best team to go knock Brad out.” TY, WITH THE POST-RACE MOMENT, THE INTERVIEW LAST WEEK, OBVIOUSLY THAT HELPED A LOT. IT WENT VIRAL, SOCIAL MEDIA TOOK OFF. JUST IN GENERAL, WHETHER IT WAS THAT MOMENT OR JUST BEATING DENNY IN GENERAL, CAN YOU EXPAND UPON JUST HOW MUCH YOU THINK THAT BROUGHT ATTENTION TO THE TEAM, TO THE SPONSORS THIS WEEK?  “Yeah, for sure. We’ve been getting a lot of comments, calls, and even walking around here in Chicago, I feel like the fan enthusiasm. I usually get a couple, hey, Ty, but like some more enthusiastic fan interaction already. So that’s been fun. You know, I think a lot of credit goes to Denny as well. He’s leaned into the Denny versus the world thing the last year or so and built up a bit of a villain role, and it’s been fun. And when drivers kind of lean into some kind of entertainment part of our roles, it opens up doors for us other guys to show some of our personality. And I think without Denny opening up to his fans a little bit or opening up to the sport a little bit, there’s not that opportunity for people to see me when we excel in a situation. And NASCAR also adding to it, doing the bracket challenge to add something interesting throughout the year that gives us a little chance to talk trash and go at each other a little bit and in a good fun (way).  So, it was just a good moment. Everything culminated together. And then on our team’s credit, we’ve ran good all year. There just hasn’t been the moment that we’ve gotten a chance for everybody to really see it. We’ve got to continue to get better so that the broadcasters and you guys continue to talk good about us, and that only helps. And having a moment last week for sure helped that, and hopefully we continue that momentum.”  YOU SAID, ADMITTEDLY SO, YOU WERE KIND OF AN UNDERDOG GOING UP AGAINST DENNY LAST WEEK, BUT HE WENT ON THE SHOW AND SAID, HEY, LET TY HAVE HIS MOMENT. I’M NOT PISSED AT HIM. APPARENTLY, YOU CALLED HIM. WHAT WAS THAT MOMENT LIKE TALKING WITH DENNY AND WITH HIM? HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL FOR HIM TO GO ON THE SHOW AND SAY WHAT HE DID ABOUT, GIVE IT TO THIS GUY. HE DESERVES IT.  “Yeah, I sent him a text afterwards and just said, hey, man, just having fun with your friends. I hate that you got taken out. We didn’t get to race straight up as much as we probably wanted to, but he was like, man, I loved it. That was cool. And Denny gets it, you know, and I think that’s something for our drivers to continue to grow. Denny’s grown, I think, in his comfort level of who he is in the race car and around the track to where he’s leaning into that little, bit of a villain role, and I think we should all see that a little bit. I think we get so focused, as drivers on our own performance, and we beat ourselves up, but we don’t lean into the fact that so much of what we do isn’t just about us. It’s about the entertainment level that we provide to our fans, and Denny has done a great job of that, like I said, and given me also the opportunity when I excel, playing off of him to show some of my personality. I like trash talking. When I play sports, it’s kind of the fun thing that I do. Like, I don’t mean anything by it, but I like to see where people’s minds are inside the game, and so that was just a fun moment. He gets it, which is cool, and there’s a level of people that kind of understand there’s another level to this whole game once you’ve been around long enough that really matters as far as leaning into the fan side of this thing.” SO, TWO QUICK ONES. WAS THAT REMARK PLANNED OR SPONTANEOUS?  It was planned when I knew he was eliminated. When I knew we had him, I told Mamba for the interview, I said, hey, give me a second after this interview, I got something to say. So, somewhat spontaneous, I guess you could call it that, but it was there. It was always there, and I just wanted to lean into it a little bit.” AND HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR CHANCES AGAINST BRAD ON THE CHICAGO STREET COURSE?  Honestly, I feel good. You know, we’re going to do our best starting today and all through the race tomorrow to put pressure on him. This is a place that if you feel like you can pressure people, they can make mistakes. Obviously, you’re seeing in practice in Xfinity cars, a little bit more can get you in a lot of trouble. And I enjoy road course racing. We ran really good in Mexico City, another one of the races that we ran up front. A lot of people credit it to being good in the rain, but we also ran really well when it turned dry, too. We were probably going to be staring at a top ten run there. And I think on the last restart when Truex got spun, it knocked our right front down, and we never got another caution to come back. So we have some confidence coming from Mexico City. Obviously, this is a little bit of a different animal. It’s been a cool week for me. We have Will Brown come over from the V8 Supercar, so I’ve been studying as much as I can from that guy. He is just as solid, it seems, so far as SVG and knowing his way around getting these street courses. So just learning. Went to a humbling school this week underneath Will Brown, just learning from him. So we’re going to try to get better every time we get on the track this weekend and finish strong. I think that if we do what we know we’re capable of, we execute our race, don’t put ourselves in trouble, we’re going to put a lot of pressure on Brad to knock him out too.” YOU TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT. YOU LOOK AT THE RESULTS OVERALL, MAYBE THEY’RE NOT WHERE YOU WANT, BUT RUNNING POSITION, THINGS LIKE THAT, YOU GUYS ARE MUCH MORE ATTUNED AND MORE COMPETITIVE THAN MANY PEOPLE REALIZE. HOW WOULD YOU KIND OF CHARACTERIZE YOUR SEASON ON THAT FRONT?  Yeah, it’s been frustrating in a sense, but the main ingredient, to future success is there and that’s the speed and the ability to run up front. Now the execution is something that we have to grow in, finishing out these races we’re running seventh in Talladega and run out of gas come to the white flag. We ran I guess twice at Bristol killed our finish there, get ran into at Mexico City probably would have finished somewhere in the top-12, I believe, if that thing runs out without losing a flat tire. I can go back to so many races where just silly things happened, and we made mistakes. Maybe it’s just being a young team all the way through driver, crew chief, and pit crew where we’ve just made mistakes that have not finished the races out. At Phoenix earlier in the year we’re running really strong, I speed on pit road probably take a fifth or sixth place finish and end up 14th. Just these opportunities that we got to grow in, and I think we’re getting there. I think last week was a good, testament to that and you know our goal is to make sure people know that and see how we continue to progress as a team. It’s been so fun working with this Kaulig group and, we’re only going to get better.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 5, 2025

Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at the Chicago Street Course.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:  TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT A SPECIAL SPONSOR YOU HAVE THIS WEEK AND WHAT YOU THINK OF THE COURSE “Yeah, it’s great to have DePaul University on the 71 Chevy. You know, obviously a new partnership for us and NASCAR.  To have a local brand and a brand that fans recognize, is cool, and it makes coming to this race extra special. Going to get to meet a lot of the DePaul people this weekend starting today and tomorrow and looking forward to that. A unique partnership and glad to be a part of it. As far as the track goes, just like Chase (Elliott) was talking about, everything looks and feels as it has the last two years.  Watching this Xfinity practice has definitely given me anxiety. Just because there have been a lot of mistakes and extra, but this track is just like that. You are right at the edge and as you saw, Connor Zilisch, one of the best, make a little bit of a mistake.  That can happen so easy here.  I mean it’s, there’s spots to this track where it’s very narrow and you feel right on the edge and you are getting as close to that wall as you can and trying not to clip it. It’s just very easy to get it wrong.  It’s a tough place. So, I like the challenge, and I feel like it requires you to be aggressive, but also very technical.  And I think it separates the good road racers to the guys that are maybe just good at Watkins Glen or Sonoma or places like that.” HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN YOUR CONFIDENCE FROM MEXICO CITY TO HERE? “I think its interesting. Confidence isn’t something that you can fake or fabricate.  For me, it comes from results and analytics and understanding where we are at, and where we are not at.  I think Mexico went okay.  You know the strategy didn’t work out great for us, but qualified I think in the top three and felt like we were a top three car and ended up finishing fourth or fifth. I don’t know which one.  And so we were in the game, but not quite where we wanted to be.  But I am optimistic because just like it takes time, and its taking time, to figure out what I need in the 71 car and what package that is going to take.  Believe it or not, it’s been different than years past.  Mexico was one step forward from COTA where I felt like, ‘hey, I like this, I like that, but I still need to do this, this, this’.  And if we can make it do this, we are going to be really good. And so you just keep building that and building that, and its nice to have road courses here, and I don’t want to say back-to-back, because we had a race in between Mexico. But now we go to Chicago, Sonoma and these are our opportunities to try to win. This race has been……I don’t know what the right word is, but with the rain and the dry, it’s been hard to get a rhythm in the race.  So, I feel like we have had speed and had opportunities here, and if we catch this strategy right, catch the tires right, and all those things.  So, it’s a unique race and I think if you are in the game, like in that top three or top four, you are going to have a shot at it depending on when those cautions fall or if the race gets shortened. There are things that have caught us out the last two years where I felt like we were in contention.  So, I like it. I like the challenge of this track, and I like the conditions changing and I feel good about what tomorrow could bring.” IS THERE MORE STRESS HERE BECAUSE THERE IS NOT MUCH ROOM FOR A RUNOFF HERE AS OPPOSED TO ANOTHER TRACK LIKE WATKING GLEN? “Oh yeah for sure. I was telling my wife as we were listening and watching practice there, it’s like you roll out to practice, and you want to get into a good rhythm and you want to be close to the limit, but you don’t want to really challenge yourself a ton.  Because you see what happens and there is really no time to get a backup ready, and you don’t want to start in the back.  There’s just a very condensed schedule.  So, I feel like you are at that 80-85% in practice, and you are getting your rhythm, and you are getting your marks, then you are pushing yourself a little bit more and a little bit more, then you go qualify.  And you throw all that out the window and just put it on the edge.  You have to do that for a few laps here I feel like.  So, it is an adrenaline rush, but it is stressful though to answer your question though. You never feel like you put your guard down, you stay very tense, you stay very locked in that high level of concentration because it’s an inch left our right and you miss it. But it’s fun though when you get it right.” HOW IS THE JELL BETWEEN YOU AND THE TEAM COMING ALONG NOW AT SPIRE? “Yeah, I think the jell is good, that is fine.  I feel like the chemistry is good and keeping Travis Peterson with me is a big part of that.  And not just Travis, but the car chief, mechanics and engineers, and the spotter.  So, there are multiple guys that have stayed with me and that continuity and chemistry is good and is not really the issue. I think the bigger issue for us, and I wouldn’t even call it that as an issue, but more the growing process of learning new tools and how that correlates to what we are used to.  It’s just been a bit of a transition. You know, some of the things that worked for us in the past don’t work as well, and that is surprising. Its not something you would expect, but we have learned through that, and I feel like we have had more ups and downs than we had wanted to, but I also feel like our cars have potential and have speed. I was looking at one of the charts someone posted, and it was like when we finish with no problems, we typically finish in the top 10 and are in contention. Or there are 30s. That has been the struggle this year, we have had a decent amount of mechanical issues, we have had a decent amount of random season racing stuff where you make a mistake or something happens. But on the races where we execute and everything goes pretty well, I feel like we are in that top 10 contention. Now we don’t have a lot of top 10s to show for it, I realize that. I feel like we have like three for four 11th and 12ths that are just right outside the top 10.   And I feel like our speed has been there to contend, but there is still a lot to clean up. And it’s hard. Like I said, it’s hard for the number 9 to win races – Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports to win Cup races.  Could you imagine how hard it is for the 71 team to win races? It’s tough and this is a tough sport.  And you have to have everything go your way.  And when you see guys that have done this a long time and won a lot of races, it’s not easy. So, I feel like we are on a good path, and I am very happy with where our program is, and our team is. Obviously, we need a win, and we know that.” IF THIS IS THE LAST EDITION OF THIS CHICAGO RACE, DID THIS CONCEPT WORK AND WAS COMING HERE A SUCCESS? “I think it’s been a huge success, especially with some of the adversity that everyone has had to overcome. Whether it be weather, and you guys remember that first year on the Saturday, the amount of people that were coming in here for the concert was insanity and it was going to be a giant success and then obviously the weather and thunderstorms.  I think it’s had to go through a lot of adversity, but the race itself and the city and the track and all the things are awesome.  I’ve enjoyed the whole process, and I feel like it accomplished what we wanted to accomplish and that is engaging with new fans, bringing the race to the fans and not the fans to the race. I think we have checked all the boxes and honestly until the last two days, maybe it’s because I am not on social media as much or whatever it is, I didn’t know that there is a possibility that it would be the last one. But I am thankful if it is, for the time that we had here and you know I think it has expanded and opened the industry’s eyes as to what we can do well. Right? I mean the Colosseum did that, Bowman Gray did that, and Mexico City.  As we do new things more often and people get more comfortable in that uncomfortable space, I feel like our sport will continue to grow and expand.  We talked a little bit about that in Mexico. I think we are positioned pretty well to do that and I think we have the right product on the racetrack and we have the right race car to do that and put on a good show.  We have the right personalities and drivers to do that as well, so I hope we keep expanding and keep trying new things because I feel like its been a success. I think we need to look at each area geographically and when their rainy season is and when they are not go there during the rain season. We need to head that up. It feels like when we go somewhere new, we are always fighting that weather element. So, I don’t know where that is.

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 5, 2025

Will Brown, driver of the No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, met with the media ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at the Chicago Street Course. Making the crossover as the reigning Australian Supercars Champion, Brown will be making his second career start in NASCAR’s top division in Sunday’s Grant Park 165.

Media Availability Quotes:  TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY AND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO“Really looking forward to coming back and racing in the Cup Series.  For me, I got a run last year at Sonoma and probably didn’t end up the way we wanted it to end, so we tried putting a deal together to come back this year.  I was talking with Richard Childress and Austin Hill was running with them this weekend, so I was lucky enough that he was able to put me in touch with Ty (Norris) at Kaulig and put together a deal to come race here in Chicago. Obviously, a lot of us Supercar drivers after watching Shane (Van Gisbergen) in 2023 loved the look of Chicago and the event, so a lot of us wanted to come over and try this event.  Very lucky to be here.” ARE AUSTRALIAN SUPERCAR FANS WORRIED ABOUT LOSING ALL OF YOU GUYS TO NASCAR? “There have been some comments about it, but I am not so sure from a fan point of view.  I think its been great for us because it’s Monday morning and a lot of us wake up in the morning and watch Shane. Nearly everyone on our team, and definitely a lot of fans – watching NASCAR on Monday.  So that has been amazing, and a lot of people will be tuning in tomorrow, but I am not sure so much. I think losing Shane from our series was a hit at the time, but there has been a lot of young guys come up through and kind of take that place and are really competitive now.  So, yeah, not sure.” WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE CIRCUIT SO FAR AND HOW DO YOU COMPARE IT TO OTHER STREET COURSES YOU HAVE BEEN ON? “Yeah, it’s very similar to a couple of our street courses.  It’s really just like a concrete jungle at the end of the day and you don’t want to make a mistake.  Yeah, for us we have places like Gold Coast and the Gold Coast 600 that we race is a very similar circuit.  Extremely tight, and can’t make a mistake and also Adelaide.  The circuit looks great, and the surface looks a little rough where you can make a few mistakes and it will bounce you around a bit. I noticed that in the simulator and watching a bit of footage.  So yeah, it’s probably just a little bit rough in places and I will be making sure to limit mistakes.  For me, I just need to get through to the race and make no mistakes in practice and qualifying.” FOR THE BUILD OF THE CIRCUIT, IS IT AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN ANY OTHER STREET COURSE YOU HAVE SEEN BEFORE? “Yeah, its pretty much the same as how we build them in Australia.  There’s very little differences.  We have escape roads at the end of each high braking zone like such as turn one. You would be able to run down an escape road if you overshot one, but here, you hit tires. So, the consequences are higher here if you make a mistake.  So, you might pull back that couple of a percent to make sure you don’t.” WITH JOINING KAULIG THIS WEEKEND, WHAT INFLUENCE HAS AJ (ALLMENDINGER) BEEN FOR YOU? “Yeah, obviously I have watched AJ a lot while I have been watching Shane. He is a very good road course racer, so it will be interesting to work with him this weekend and see if there is anything I can learn from him or vice versa.  I have done a lot with Ty (Dillon) actually, mostly in the simulator sessions quite a bit heading into this weekend.  It’s been good to work with these guys.” WHEN TAILGATING WITH PEOPLE IN ATLANTA, WAS THERE ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR THAT STOOD OUT AND WHAT IMPRESSED YOU WITH THEIR TAILGATING ABILITY? “I think the whole thing was impressive to be honest.  In Australia we don’t have our fans roll in early and tailgate ahead of the event, they just come for it. I was always interested in how over here with all the sporting, everyone rolls in and has a barbecue, drinks and then heads into the event. I wanted to go and experience it, so we put a tweet out and we got some great fans to respond. We went and met a couple of them, had a few beers with them, had a few drinks and just experienced that side of it which I enjoyed.  It’s just amazing how into it the fans are and love it.  It was amazing to experience that before.” WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU ATE OR DRANK THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT IT WAS? “Yeah, I had a Jello shot.  And I was like ‘what is it made of? Vodka?’ and they were like, not its moonshine.  So that was my first time experiencing moonshine.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 5, 2025

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at the Chicago Street Course.

Media Availability Quotes:  Besides extra media, was this week different than any other week? “No… you know, you’ve been around me and Alan (Gustafson) long enough to know that by Tuesday, really even Monday, it’s kind of back to work. I feel like we did a good job enjoying it. I try to embrace those moments, you know, as I’ve told you guys a lot and tried to slow it down as much as I could, just because that’s an important time to cherish and remember. All of those things are extremely special, but there’s another race in a week and the train keeps rolling. We got back to work and just kind of started on our Chicago prep like a normal week would have been.”  Is there anything that you saw, if you saw any sort of highlights of the celebrations or anything, that you feel like really either kind of struck you or made you think, wow, that’s what made it really cool?“Yeah, I mean just having lived it, right? Having lived it and the experience with Rhealynn there after the race and just seeing her kind of open up and see her excitement. You know, go from this shy little girl that didn’t know anything about racing to celebrating in victory lane with us at the end of the night. It was just really, really special to kind of see that transition. To have my mom there and other family members and friends — those things just make those moments unique and I’m grateful for them. Just the whole experience was incredible. So, yeah, couldn’t really have asked for any more last week. You know, obviously, it all worked out in our favor and hopefully we can do this more often.”  Whether it’s talking about advocating for the Nashville race near the city or you were praising the L.A. Coliseum or praising here when we first started the Chicago Street Race — you’ve been one of the biggest advocates for racing near city and bringing it to the people. We don’t know if this is the last one of this race or not. But what do you think the legacy of bringing the street race has been? Was this proof of concept in drivers minds that this can work at other places? “Yeah, I mean, I think it’s a great idea, for sure. And I’m all for that. The biggest reason I’m such a big advocate of Nashville is because it, to me, oval track racing is kind of our bread and butter, right? So we have that there. This is a great second choice to get to a city, but there’s nothing that’s going to top giving people a true short track… ‘What is NASCAR… Here it is’. You know, take an Uber from Broadway to the racetrack and go watch. Like to me, that is the biggest home run waiting to happen that we’ve had a long time. But this is a good second choice, as far as getting inside a big city market. It’s been a lot of fun from my perspective to come do it. It’s been a lot of fun for friends and family and people to come to this race, like just from my personal side, because it’s so different than what they typically see. You know, they go get nice dinners. If I’m busy at the racetrack on Saturday, they have things to go do. So all that stuff, selfishly, has been has been a lot of fun.  You know, look, I if I lived here and I wasn’t a NASCAR fan, I could totally see the frustration of roads being blocked and traffic and all that sort of thing. So look, I get it. I get it. But it’s been fun for us. I hope there’s been more positive than there has been negative for the people of Chicago. Whether this is the last year or not, I appreciate them having us, even the ones that didn’t want us. I look forward to wherever it goes next. I hope that somewhere down the line, we can take it to a different city, you know, just to switch it up… just like the championship race rotating. I think a city street course moving around would be really healthy and good. If this is last year, you know, I don’t think there’s any bridges burned. I just think maybe we move it around and, who knows, maybe come back another time.”  What lessons do you think this sport has learned from racing in downtown Chicago that could be applied maybe elsewhere?“Well, you know, I kind of look at it more from a competition perspective when I’m thinking about your question. One thing that, which obviously I’m careful with this because I haven’t been on the track today, but I know and I can attest from last year or I’m sorry, the first year to last year, the way they repeated the track and just the measurements and the corner angles and braking zones – all the things were extremely similar. Where they had walls placed, like all that stuff was done really, really well. So I don’t know what process went into that, if it’s track scans or some sort of virtual representation or virtual model that they made up, but that’s the first thing that’s come to my mind that I’ve been most impressed by is how we’ve had the ability to recreate the track year to year. And I think if you have street courses and things from a driver’s side, it is nice to not have massive changes on the road from year to year because it can be tough to adapt to that stuff. But that’s been fun. Obviously the marketing side is a whole other answer. But yeah, it’s been fun from a competition perspective, and I think they’ve done a good job with it.”

SUMNER, IL — July 4, 2025 — In the final 2025 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models race held in Illinois, it was a home-state native who boosted his chances of winning the overall title.

Through 40 laps of racing around Sumner, IL’s Red Hill Raceway on Independence Day, Jason Feger drove to his fifth victory of the tour as he sits nine races away from his second career championship with the Hell Tour.

Dillon McCowan and Tyler Millwood led the field to the green flag, with McCowan’s No. 75 flying around the top of the cushion around the Thursday night winner to take the lead.

Feger used the bottom while Millwood used the top in their battle for second place. However, Feger’s pace on the low side helped him prevail ahead of Millwood on Lap 3 as he eyed McCowan’s position.

Feger crept up to McCowan after making up a one-second deficit by keeping his car stuck to the bottom lane. McCowan stuck to the cushion while Feger stayed low as they battled side-by-side for the Feature lead. Feger threw a slide job through Turns 3-4 to take the lead until McCowan countered his move in Turns 1-2 to retake the position.

McCowan held onto the lead, but Feger kept the Adam Family Motorsports No. 75 within reach with a 0.5-second interval between the two. When McCowan attempted to use the bottom to squeeze Feger, he was unable to keep the car planted as Feger secured the lead on Lap 19 off of Turn 4 with speed from the bottom lane.

McCowan charged back at Feger, riding the cushion, but the “High Side Hustler” kept McCowan out of an opportunity to take the lead with a 0.8-second distance as lapped traffic on the bottom prevented McCowan from passing Feger.

While lapped traffic kept to the bottom of the 0.4-mile oval, Feger grew the lead to 1.3 seconds over McCowan as he planted the No. 25 Feger Racing Longhorn Chassis towards his 35th career Hell Tour win.

The final Illinois triumph helped Feger get away from Tyler Erb by 82 points entering the final eight races, and leads Erb and Mark Whitener in the Week 4 standings by 24 markers.

“I was just patient,” Feger said. “This place is really hard on tires. And Dillon, I wanted to get in the top of (Turn 2), but I didn’t think my car would be as good as it was around the bottom. and drove around it pretty effortlessly. I felt really good, so I was gonna stay down there as long as I could. I just kept pressuring Dillon and kept running harder and harder, and I could see his grip starting to give up. Just a wily veteran and patient, so it makes my job easy.”

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 25F-Jason Feger[3]; 2. 75-Dillon McCowan[2]; 3. 5-Mark Whitener[10]; 4. 14JR-Trey Mills[7]; 5. 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 6. 90-Brian Rickman[17]; 7. 28B-Carson Brown[5]; 8. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[6]; 9. 14-Haiden Cowan[15]; 10. 81-Jason Riggs[12]; 11. 388-Jackson Hise[14]; 12. D48-Derek Groomer[13]; 13. 15-Clay Stuckey[20]; 14. 17SR-Brody Smith[22]; 15. 31M-Tyler Millwood[1]; 16. (DNF) 5S-Kyle Hammer[8]; 17. (DNF) 11G-Gordy Gundaker[11]; 18. (DNF) 17SS-Brenden Smith[16]; 19. (DNF) 18-Shannon Babb[21]; 20. (DNF) 29-Christian Hanger[19]; 21. (DNF) 47-Cyle Forgy[18]; 22. (DNF) 4-Cody Mahoney[9]

Will Krup Scores First Win with Summit Modified Nationals in 2025, Second Consecutive at Red Hill

Will Krup has cracked the code at Red Hill Raceway.

In his first start with the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals in 2025, the Mt. Carmel, IL driver revisited where he last took a victory with the tour, as he secured a second consecutive win at the Sumner, IL track.

Krup kept his No. K9 Elite Chassis at the top of the leaderboard in every UMP Modified event that he participated in by going fastest in his Qualifying group, then won his Heat race to draw the Pole Position for the night’s 25-lap Feature.

He led the field to the green flag and mixed his strategies by switching from the bottom lane to the high side of the 4/10-mile racetrack as 2023 champion Tyler Nicely and current points leader Trevor Neville followed behind Krup, but could 

Krup found his pace around the top of the track while he held Nicely to a 0.9-second advantage while the two drivers distanced themselves from Neville in the race for the night’s win.

In the final stages, Krup broke away from Nicely’s grasp as he drove towards a 2.2-second lead for his ninth career Summit Modifieds win. Krup’s flag-to-flag win gives him sole possession of ninth on the all-time tour wins list, leaving the Independence Day race.

“I think the biggest key is that whoever got in the lead definitely had the advantage,” Krup said. “So, it was going to be hard to get around Tyler if he ended up getting the lead early. Good redraw put me on the outside front row, got to take the lead, and the car was really good.”

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals visit Indiana for the first time in 2025 with a trip to Haubstadt Speedway on Saturday, July 5.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.

Feature (25 Laps): 1. K9-Will Krup[2]; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 4. 99-Hunt Gossum[8]; 5. 45H-Chase Holland[6]; 6. 75-Daniel Adam[4]; 7. 37-Everett Bradham[1]; 8. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[10]; 9. 27G-Jason Garver[12]; 10. 16C-John Clippinger[15]; 11. 67-Chris Moore[9]; 12. 50-Tyler Weiss[11]; 13. 81-Kevin Cole[14]; 14. 95K-Levi Kissinger[13]; 15. 95-Ed Roley[16]; 16. 86A-Kevin Burns[20]; 17. 55M-Blaze Melton[7]; 18. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[17]; 19. 2X-Wes Harms[24]; 20. 1S-Brian Shaw[21]; 21. 91K-Cody Kibby[18]; 22. 55-Justin Jones[19]; 23. 69L-Josh Lemke[26]; 24. 81K-Kyle Cole[22]; 25. 81C-Christopher Cole[23]; 26. (DNS) 77-Jim Shipman; 27. (DNS) 73X-Matt Duvall

CHILLICOTHE, OH (July 4, 2025) – Brandon Sheppard earned his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season on Friday night, taking the Independence 50 at Atomic Speedway. Sheppard inherited the lead when race leader Carson Ferguson went pit side under a caution after leading the first four laps. Sheppard went on to lead the rest of the way and secure the $25,000 win. It was Sheppard’s 33rd career victory with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing, tying him with Josh Richards. Josh Rice, who recovered after an oil leak was discovered before time trials, came from the 17th starting position to finish second. Jonathan Davenport rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Davenport finished 5 points behind points leader Ricky Thornton Jr., who finished 16th after dropping out of the race while running in second.  Davenport now leads Thornton by 55 points heading into Saturday’s race at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio. Daulton Wilson finished in fourth, with Donald McIntosh rounding out the top five drivers. Sheppard’s visit to Lucas Oil Victory Lane is his first since February 8, 2024, at East Bay Raceway Park. “It feels so good. It’s crazy that this was the place where we got our first Lucas Oil win this year. It’s been a long time since I’ve won here. This place has been tough on me lately, but I can’t thank my team enough for busting their tails this week to get this new car ready for us. Honestly, I’ve had the car messed up most of the year because of some stuff I was feeling in Florida, and we made some changes that caused more issues. I found some pretty good speed in my car during the Summer Nationals, so I told Mark what I did, and he said, well, that’s where we should have been at the start of the year.”  Rice came home second after rallying from the inside of row nine. “I feel like I won the race about as badly as a comeback could be. It was probably the ugliest podium finish you will ever see from me. Like I said, we broke the oil line, my crew was covered in oil and everything else. We were goofing off and everything else six laps in, and I thought about pulling in. I was like, we got our start money. Then, it seemed like about eight cars broke, and more cars kept blowing up. After that long green flag run, I looked up on the board and saw I was in sixth. Daultin Wilson showed me the top down here in three and four. I was kind of decent, really, and then he showed me all the way around the top. That’s when I really started to make up time.” Davenport, coming off a red-hot month of June, where he won the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway and his first Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway, is positioning himself even better as he seeks his record-tying fourth series title. “It’s something we’ve been searching for all year—getting the points lead. We got close to him (Thornton), but he pulled away again. I hate to take the points lead while he (Thornton) is having bad luck, but we’ve had our fair share of bad luck this year. In March, we spun out against a lapped car running second. Thanks to all of you fans for coming out and spending your Fourth of July with us. We appreciate it. I hope we put on a good show for you.” The winner’s Mark Richards Racing, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Franklin Enterprises, Petroff Towing, Gunter’s Honey, Ace Metal Works, Stiles Marine and Maintenance, Rocket 1 Pre-Owned Motors, Collins Brothers Towing, and Sunoco Race Fuels. Completing the top ten were Hudson O’Neal, Dan Ebert, Daniel Hilsabeck, Mike Marlar, and Clay Harris. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Independence 50Friday, July 4, 2025Atomic Speedway – Chillicothe, OH Allstar Performance Time TrialsRicky Thornton Jr. | 13.346 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 60-Dan Ebert[3]; 4. 19M-Spencer Hughes[4]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 6. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 7. C4-Freddie Carpenter[6]; 8. 6-Clay Harris[9]; 9. 11-Adam Stricker[8] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 93-Carson Ferguson[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 28-Tyler Carpenter[5]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[7]; 6. 11R-Josh Rice[8]; 7. 57-Caiden Black[6]; 8. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 9. K54-Kenneth Rucker[9] Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 4. 71C-RJ Conley[6]; 5. 79-Donald McIntosh[4]; 6. 93L-Cory Lawler[5]; 7. 00-Justin Cooper[8]; 8. R54-Shane Greco[7] Fast Shafts B-Main Race Finish (7 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. C4-Freddie Carpenter[1]; 2. 57-Caiden Black[2]; 3. 6-Clay Harris[4]; 4. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 5. 00-Justin Cooper[3]; 6. R54-Shane Greco[6]; 7. K54-Kenneth Rucker[8]; 8. (DNS) 11-Adam Stricker Independence 50 Feature Finish (50 Laps): Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay1 – 3 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $25,8002 – 17 – 11R – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $10,0003 – 6 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $7,1004 – 9 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $4,7005 – 15 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $4,3006 – 11 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $3,5007 – 7 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $3,2008 – 16 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $3,0009 – 13 – 157 – Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – $2,20010 – 21 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $2,80011 – 18 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $2,70012 – 4 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,90013 – 19 – C4 – Freddie Carpenter – Parkersburg, WV – $1,80014 – 12 – 71C – RJ Conley – Wheelersburg, OH – $1,70015 – 10 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – $2,30016 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $2,70017 – 22 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $2,20018 – 14 – 66C – Matt Cosner – Ridgeley, WV – $1,50019 – 5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $2,20020 – 8 – 28 – Tyler Carpenter – Parkersburg, WV – $1,50021 – 2 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $2,20022 – 20 – 57 – Caiden Black – New Concord, OH – $1,50023 – 23 – R54 – Shane Greco – Midway, WV – $1,50024 – 24 – 11 – Adam Stricker – Batavia, OH – $1,500 Race Statistics  Entrants: 26Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton Jr.MD3 Lap Leaders: Carson Ferguson (Laps 1-4); Brandon Sheppard (Laps 5-50)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Brandon SheppardWieland Feature Winner: Brandon SheppardMargin of Victory: 2.457 secondsColtman Farms Racing Cautions: Hudson O’Neal (Lap 4); Tyler Carpenter (Lap 7); Brandon Overton (Lap 9); Debris (Lap 29); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 38)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: Shane Greco, Adam StrickerEmergency Provisional: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Brandon Sheppard, Josh Rice, Jonathan DavenportPenske Shocks Top 5: Brandon Sheppard, Josh Rice, Jonathan Davenport, Daulton Wilson, Donald McIntoshPEM 4th Place Feature: Daulton WilsonDMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Donald McIntoshWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Dan EbertWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Cory LawlerDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Freddie CarpenterMD3 24th Place Feature: Adam StrickerHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Josh Rice (Advanced 15 Positions)MD3 Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (46 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon SheppardMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Donald McIntoshPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Sheppard | Lap 6 | 14.035 secondsSlicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr.Fresh Roof Hard Luck Award: Carson FergusonOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny WhiteARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Dan Ebert | 13.218 secondsTime of Race: 30 minutes 53 seconds Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Pay1 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 4690 – $243,4002 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 4635 – $259,1503 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 4435 – $181,8494 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 4275 – $110,5755 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 4080 – $83,8506 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 4050 – $110,8007 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 3955 – $87,5008 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – 3730 – $71,0259 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 3560 – $59,62510 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – 3430 – $46,40011 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 3365 – $43,02512 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – 3110 – $42,12513 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 3075 – $35,00014 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 2925 – $34,55015 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 2700 – $25,725

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing

Founded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2025, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 58 events across 16 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package streamed live via FloRacing, with select broadcasts on RACER Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, driver information, and more, visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.

Official Marketing Partners

BELLEVILLE, KS (July 4, 2025) — Many open-wheel dirt racing heroes have left their mark on the hallowed grounds of Belleville High Banks. Sam Hafertepe Jr. has now made his as the inaugural winner of 360 Sprint Car racing’s newest special, The Big One.

After claiming victory in the preliminary event Thursday night, the five-time American Sprint Car Series champion from Sunnyvale, TX, dominated Friday’s main event, leading all 25 laps around the historic, half-mile oval to pocket the $10,000 grand prize and his fifth Series victory of the season.

Hafertepe has made only four career starts at Belleville, but he knows of the prestige that comes with winning at the Kansas oval and now has two pieces of it to take home with him after a sweep of the weekend’s events.

“Belleville is so legendary,” Hafertepe said. “Everybody thinks of this place as a thing of the past because there haven’t been a lot of high-profile Sprint Car races like this. If they keep building this, the event could get huge. It really could.”

2023 Series champion Jason Martin was Hafertepe’s biggest competition Thursday night and presented another challenge throughout Friday’s program. After Hafertepe broke Martin’s track record in Qualifying on Thursday, Martin returned fire in Qualifying on Friday and regained the track record with a lap of 15.381.

Following a 1–2 finish in the Honest Abe Roofing Dash, Hafertepe and Martin lined up on the front row of the Feature. Hafertepe jumped out to the early lead, and by the first caution flag on Lap 13, had opened a lead of over two seconds in lapped traffic.

“The only thing that worried me was we hadn’t really got to run the bottom or the middle all night, so we didn’t really know how good we were across the corner out of the good stuff,” Hafertepe said. “Luckily, in the Feature, when we had to go down there, we could go right through the middle and pass lapped cars. I knew once we could do that, I felt like we had it pretty well in-hand.”

Under caution, Hafertepe remained calm and collected with a straightforward plan for the restart to avoid a late challenge from Martin behind him.

“I knew if I got a good run down the hill off of Turns 3–4, I’d have enough speed going into 1 that nobody could slide me,” Hafertepe said. “I felt like we were so good around the top that it would take an act of Congress to get past us.”

In the end, no driver could get close enough to challenge Hafertepe for the lead, and the Hill’s Racing Team No. 15H cruised to the finish line, awarding Hafertepe his 83rd career Series victory.

Hafertepe has given abundant credit to his crew throughout the season, and said Friday was another showcase of their decision-making skills in the pits compared to his competitors.

“I knew [Martin] was gonna be there; it was a thought in my mind,” Hafertepe said. “But I honestly think a lot of guys made a lot of wrong calls for the Feature; I think it caught a lot of guys off-guard. We just didn’t do anything, and I think that was the best thing we could’ve done and it paid off for us.”

By the checkered flag, Martin has slipped back to the third spot after Iowa racer Cameron Martin made the pass on him in lapped traffic. Still, Jason collected his third-straight podium finish, while Cameron notched his best career finish and first-ever Series podium.

Kansas native Bryant Wiedeman crossed the stripe in fourth while Matt Covington completed the top five.

UP NEXT

The American Sprint Car Series continues its 2025 campaign in the Sunflower State of Kansas next Friday–Saturday, July 11–12, at Lakeside Speedway and 81 Speedway.

Tickets for both events will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS (view all results)

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 2. 4-Cameron Martin[4]; 3. 36-Jason Martin[2]; 4. 1X-Bryant Wiedeman[3]; 5. 95-Matt Covington[5]; 6. 2J-Zach Blurton[6]; 7. 14-Joey Danley[9]; 8. 2B-Garrett Benson[8]; 9. 52-Blake Hahn[14]; 10. 17W-Harli White[7]; 11. 71-Brady Baker[17]; 12. 23S-Stuart Snyder[12]; 13. 10C-Jeremy Campbell[11]; 14. 10-Landon Britt[15]; 15. 16G-Austyn Gossel[16]; 16. 7C-Chris Morgan[22]; 17. 91-Jeff Stasa[19]; 18. 88-Terry Easum[20]; 19. 88C-Brogan Carder[18]; 20. 5D-Zach Daum[23]; 21. 88R-Ryder Laplante[21]; 22. 45X-Kyler Johnson[10]; 23. 88J-Jeremy Huish[13]; 24. (DNS) 3D-Jake Diehl

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 4, 2025) – Independence Day wasn’t the only “fourth” that Nick Hoffman got to celebrate on Friday night at Deer Creek Speedway.

The Mooresville, NC driver cruised to his fourth World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision victory of the season and the 10th of his career in the Friday portion of the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50.

After starting the Feature on the outside of the front row alongside Bilstein Pole Award winner Tyler Bruening, Hoffman settled into second while Bruening led until Chris Simpson blew an engine to bring out the first caution on Lap 3.

When the race resumed, Hoffman wasn’t going to let Bruening get away as easily. The No. 9 stayed side-by-side with Bruening on the bottom down the backstretch, dove to the bottom entering Turn 3 and slid up into the top spot. That move got Bruening out of shape, and the No. 16 got sideways, slid down the track and in front of the field to kickstart a massive pileup.

“Big slider there, I felt like it was a pretty late slider,” Hoffman said. “Felt like [Bruening] could have lifted. Just one of those deals, he was turned down the hill to probably try and cross me. As soon as he got underneath me, it turns you around like that in front of everybody. It sucks.”

The wreck knocked five cars out of the race, including Series points leader Bobby Pierce, who got upside down. When the carnage was cleaned up, Hoffman powered away to the lead while Jake Timm and Brian Shirley raced for second. The Winona, MN native put his local knowledge of Deer Creek to good use in the battle, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Shirley.

Once he got clear of Timm, Shirley began hunting down Hoffman as the leaders made their way through slower traffic. But with seven to go, Shirley made contact with Tristan Chamberlain entering Turn 3 and went around.

Before the caution came out, Ryan Gustin had made his way up to second to be the next in line to challenge Hoffman on the final run to the checkers. The “Reaper” had nothing for Hoffman’s speed on the cushion though, as Hoffman drove a perfect final eight laps on his way to the checkered flag.

The victory combined with Pierce’s DNF cut Hoffman’s deficit in the standings down to 50 points, although it wasn’t the way Hoffman intended on closing the gap.

“You don’t want to win them this way, this is probably the worst way to win them,” Hoffman said. “Our race car was good, probably should have been a little more patient obviously. Bobby goes from sixth to third there right away, lined up beside him, felt like I got a good restart and just had to throw a pretty big bomb there. It can go both ways.”

Gustin’s second-place run was a remarkable showing considering he needed a provisional to start the Feature, extending his World of Outlaws top-five streak at Deer Creek to six in a row.

“Felt like we had a really good car there, we just weren’t as fast as Nick there at the end,” Gustin said. “He could leave a lot better than I could coming off two there through the middle, but I felt like that’s the best I’ve been through the middle in a long time. Definitely learned something for the notebook.”

Dennis Erb Jr. rounded out the podium in third to establish a new career best at Deer Creek and close within 24 points of Tim McCreadie as they race for a spot in the top five.

“Things have been rolling pretty good for us,” Erb said. “We were a little bit behind the eight-ball tonight, qualified bad but got away through the Heat Race and then was able to get up through there. That deal that happened earlier was a bad deal for everybody, hate to see that, but we were able to finish it off here and come home third.”

Tanner English continued his resurgence with his second fourth-place run of the weekend, while Drake Troutman rounded out the top five after charging forward from 24th.

RACE NOTES:

Boom Briggs set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Tyler Bruening won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Tyler Bruening won Real American Beer Heat 1.

Nick Hoffman won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Chris Simpson won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Tim McCreadie won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Tyler Bruening won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Ryan Gustin won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Drake Troutman was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.

Ryan Gustin won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.

Tanner English was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Jake Timm was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Jake O’Neil was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Michael Leach was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.

Derrick Stewart was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Boom Briggs was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision will wrap up the 2025 running of the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 with the $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday, July 5. Tickets will be available at the gate.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin[23]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[16]; 4. 96-Tanner English[20]; 5. 22*-Drake Troutman[24]; 6. 49-Jake Timm[11]; 7. 3S-Brian Shirley[14]; 8. 0-Jake O’Neil[7]; 9. 09-Michael Leach[22]; 10. 43-Derrick Stewart[18]; 11. 2-Cody Overton[15]; 12. 99B-Boom Briggs[17]; 13. B1-Brent Larson[13]; 14. 40B-Kyle Bronson[21]; 15. 76-Blair Nothdurft[19]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[12]; 17. 1X-Aaron Marrant[9]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[5]; 19. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 20. 32-Bobby Pierce[6]; 21. 9M-Tim McCreadie[3]; 22. 25-Chad Simpson[8]; 23. 74X-Ethan Dotson[10]; 24. 32S-Chris Simpson[4]

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESHonda Indy 200 at Mid-OhioMid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, OhioFriday Practice Report July 4 Last year’s winner of the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, and Josef Newgarden, behind the wheel of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet were the quickest of the Chevrolet-powered drivers on the combined timesheet of Friday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio road course, turning in the second and fourth fastest times of three part practice. All 27 drivers were eligible to run in the first 40 minutes, with the 27 entries split into two groups for 12 minutes each to reduce traffic on the iconic road course.Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet led the first 40 minutes of practice, where the more durable but less sticky Primary Black Firestone Racing Tires was the only rubber utilized. He was joined in the top ten by Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet and Nolan Siegel in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in a tight group that saw 21 of the 27 drivers within one second of Power. O’Ward, with a lap timed at 66.0160 seconds, was the second-quickest in the first of two 12-minute sessions, where drivers utilized the softer, but less durable, Alternate Red Firestone Racing Tires, with ten drivers within a second of the quickest driver. Newgarden, a two-time winner at Mid-Ohio, was the quickest driver in the second 12-minute session, which was also close, with the fastest dozen drivers within a second of the Team Penske driver. A significant portion of the field had off-track adventures, but David Malukas’ incident in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet was the most significant, with the 23-year-old ending up backwards in the tire barrier on the outside of Turn 9. The 14 Team Chevy drivers are back on track at 10:35 am (ET) on Saturday morning and qualify at 2:35 pm, with both airing on FS1 in the United States.

TUNE IN ALERT  Saturday·      NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice #2 – 10:30am (ET)/9:30am (CT)/8:30am (MT)/7:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218·      NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying – 2:30pm (ET)/1:30pm (CT)/12:30pm (MT)/11:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218Sunday·      NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up – 9:30am (ET)/8:30am (CT)/7:30am (MT)/6:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218·      Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (90 laps) – 1:30pm (ET)/12:30pm (CT)/11:30am (MT)/10:30am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 NTT INDYCAR SERIES FRIDAY COMBINED PRACTICE RESULTS FROM MID-OHIO

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):A.J. FOYT RACING David Malukas, No. 4 Clarience Technologies/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet: “Just lost the rears. It was our last lap before we were going to come in so I pushed a little harder. I went to downshift and it kicked the rears out. I was in there (medical trailer) watching TV and it was happening to a lot of other guys. The track has been really slick. It caught me off guard. I tried to save it, but going up that hill it just swung around and I couldn’t keep it underneath me. Unfortunately.”  ARROW MCLAREN Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:  “We would love to go back-to-back here, but it’s early in the weekend. The car’s in the window. I’m comfortable in it. I’m happy.  “They’ve made a few safety changes. But so far, it’s been a good session for us today. So just a couple of things to clean up and we’ll be back at it tomorrow. It’s new pavement and there’s less banking. So you definitely feel the difference, especially as now as it’s rubbering in, like, you definitely feel the progression of it. But, yeah, I think it won’t be too much of a change once the whole track’s rubbered in. Just finding the limits. This is when you wanna find them. So far, it’s been, it’s been alright. “I love coming here, and the fans are always super pumped to be here for the Fourth of July weekend. And, it always smells so good, you know, those juicy burgers or whatever else they’re cooking. It”s a cool weekend to be a part of.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:  “We were pretty far off at the beginning of practice and brought ourselves back to where we need to be. We weren’t slow, but we also weren’t stellar. We did some experiments that we know didn’t work, and we know what to go back to for Practice 2. I’m confident we will have a better day tomorrow but definitely a bit of a tough one.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet: “It was an okay Practice. We didn’t really execute on our Firestone Red tire run, but the speed is clearly in the car, so we’ll go back and figure out some of the changes that we did. Did we go the wrong way, do we need more analysis–just to make sure we really know where we are from a set up perspective. But I think we’ll be okay; we’ll sleep on it and figure out how to execute on the alternative tires. The speed is there. It’s just about execution, and we’ll plan on that for Qualifying tomorrow.”  TEAM PENSKE Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet:  “It was a pretty good day. I felt pretty good about our car. It looks like we have speed in all three cars, so happy with what Chevrolet’s brought and what the team’s brought. It’s going to be another hot one, but everybody feels rested and ready for a strong weekend.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet:  “Overall, a pretty good start. Our Chevy is OK. It’s not the best right now, but we’re slowly getting it back in the window. We’ll be right there tomorrow.”

Will Power (and Colton Herta) Post practice press conference THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Wrapping up today’s practice session ahead of Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. THE MODERATOR: Joined by Will Power as well, back at the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, the 2021 Race 1 winner here at Mid-Ohio, five-time pole winner as well, quickest in the all-car session to lead off this practice session. What did you learn? WILL POWER: Actually, the car was pretty good. Yeah, didn’t get a good run on reds, but hopefully in a good window. THE MODERATOR: Sounds like Josef had a strong car as well. Maybe it’s shaping up for a good week for Team Penske perhaps? WILL POWER: Could be. Q. Will, Team Penske today announced their organizational lineup, a lot of guys you’ve worked with in the past. How do you feel about having Jonathan Diuguid at the top with Travis Law?WILL POWER: Two quality people. They’ve been there as long as I have, longer, so very quality guys. Q. Also the fact that a guy that you knew very well is back, Kyle Moyer, he’s working with Arrow McLaren. From a personal standpoint, how happy do you feel to see him back with an INDYCAR team?WILL POWER: Yeah, I think everyone’s happy to see him in the paddock. Everyone knows Kyle is very good at what he does, and he’s a great guy. I’m happy to see him in the paddock. Q. Question for both of you. What was the biggest challenge that you faced on track today?WILL POWER: Probably people backing off, simply. It’s incredible, yeah. Q. It looked like all the spins out there were due to rear grip issues. Was there anything different about the rear grip today that was causing that, or is it just how it comes off this track?WILL POWER: It’s really hard to catch the car once it gets to a certain point. With that weight, it just, phew, just keeps going. You keep sliding, and then you get to the edge of the dirtiest part of the line. Had it happen at Elkhart Lake, just so much weight to control and catch. Q. For both of you, just with the change in the banking in turn 4, how much of a difference, if any, did that make?WILL POWER: It didn’t feel that different. I think there’s probably less of a chance to pass on the outside now because there’s no bank in there. It was honestly pretty similar to me. Q. I just also wanted to ask how your Iowa test went, and what are the challenges next week on the doubleheader weekend now?WILL POWER: The challenge is being able to hold on for a stint. They’ve just added so much downforce. It’s so stuck that it’s actually painful. I did half stint, and I’m like, man, I didn’t know if I could actually continue. Like I think there’s going to be people like stopping just because it’s so painful. It’s too much, too much grip.COLTON HERTA: Yeah, I agree. It’s going to be extremely physical. Maybe that changes in the race. Maybe people save fuel a little bit more. The race pace will slow down from what we’re doing at the test, but how much — because we have to do it twice. It’s going to be a rough one. Q. I’ve got one for both the boys actually. It’s kind of a follow-on about the changes that have been made to the track. Is that going to make passing or defending better? I’ve heard some comments that maybe that makes it more of a defending type series of corners rather than passing opportunities. Will it limit passing around this track?WILL POWER: Turn 4, is that what you mean? Q. Yes.WILL POWER: It might take away the outside pass there, yeah. It will be interesting to see. Maybe there’s some deg this year. I think there will be, which always creates quicker racing. Q. Just quickly for Will, do we feel that maybe this weekend might be the first Chevy breakthrough of the season, where it’s been dominated by Honda so much this year? Do we feel that maybe Chevy is on a more level playing field here after today’s practice?WILL POWER: No, this is a Honda track, so I have zero — I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe we — I don’t know. I would have said like four races ago we were going to win one. It’s a bit shocking that we haven’t. It’s very difficult to say. We’ll do our best. Q. At Road America it was such an exciting race and a lot of places to pass with on the long straightaways. You don’t quite have that here, but now they’ve added 10 laps to the race to 90 laps. I’m just wondering if that would kind of force everyone to maybe do three pit stops? Are you going to be able to just go full bore the whole time and not save a lot of fuel?COLTON HERTA: No, it’s not going to force everybody to do three stops. It’s splitting. There will be — it’s tough because these races, they kind of suck when you qualify up front because you have to choose the right strategy, and if you don’t choose it, then you end up at the back. It reminds me of how Belle Isle was. It was a very lucky race to win, unless it was fully green. There’s so many ways to get caught in the yellow. That’s what this race will turn into.It’s probably split between the two stop into three stop, maybe favoring — probably favoring the three stop a little bit more, I think. It just gives opportunities for, if you qualify well and you’re on the wrong strategy, it could burn you pretty big. He’s (Power) probably been burned by that the most out of anybody in INDYCAR that I’ve seen from yellows and stuff, like from 2012 and 2013.WILL POWER: 15 more wins. COLTON HERTA: Yeah, honestly, that might be a little light. WILL POWER: That’s the other side of it. He’s (Dixon) the one that benefits. COLTON HERTA: I think, if you’re somebody who qualifies up front, which I like to think I qualify up front a lot out here, it hurts you a little bit more. For the viewers, I think it will make the race a little bit more interesting. Maybe tougher to follow, but more interesting for the outcome. THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming out. Appreciate your time. Good luck tomorrow in qualifying. The next NTT INDYCAR Series on track tomorrow morning 10:30 eastern time, qualifying at 2:30. Both available in the United States on FS1. Thanks, everyone. Have a great rest of your night.

Chevrolet at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Chevrolet wins at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 12 2024 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2022 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske (pictured above)2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2017 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2014 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing1993 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1992 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1991 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1990 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing 1988 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Patrick Racing Chevrolet poles at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 13 2022 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2019 – Will Power – Team Penske2017 – Will Power – Team Penske2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2015 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing2014 – Sebastien Bourdais – KV Racing Technology2013 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Andretti Global2012 – Will Power – Team Penske1991 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1990 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing 1988 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske  Chevrolet podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 33 Chevrolet podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by driver: Will Power (7), Emerson Fittipaldi (4), Michael Andretti (3), Josef Newgarden (3), Al Unser Jr. (3), Mario Andretti (2), Scott McLaughlin (2), Simon Pagenaud (2), Sebastien Bourdais (1), Rick Mears (1), Pato O’Ward (1), Bob Rahal (1), Danny Sullivan (1) and Paul Tracy (1).  Chevrolet podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by team: Team Penske (19), Newman Haas Racing (6), Galles Racing (4), Arrow McLaren (1), Chip Ganassi Racing (1), KV Racing Technology (1) and Patrick Racing (1) Chevrolet laps led at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 1034 Chevrolet laps led at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by driver: Will Power (178), Emerson Fittipaldi (168), Michael Andretti (152), Scott Dixon (67), Pato O’Ward (52), Scott McLaughlin (49), Mario Andretti (44), Sebastien Bourdais (38), Ryan Hunter-Reay (30), Juan Montoya (30), Simon Pagenaud (23), Paul Tracy (23), Al Unser Jr. (11), Helio Castroneves (6), James Hinchcliffe (2), and Danny Sullivan (2) Chevrolet laps led at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by team: Team Penske (573), Newman Haas Racing (196), Chip Ganassi Racing (67), Patrick Racing (63), Arrow McLaren (52), KV Racing Technology (38), Andretti Global (32), Galles Racing (11), and Ed Carpenter Racing (2)

HISTORICAL INFORMATION Manufacturer history at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Wins (with competition) 12 – Chevrolet (2024, 2022, 2021, 2020 Race #1, 2017, 2016, 2014, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989)12 – Honda (2023, 2020 Race #2, 2019, 2018, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2001, 2000, 1999 1997, 1996)6 – Cosworth (1987, 1986, 1986, 1984, 1983, 1980)2 – Ford (2002, 1998)1 – Ilmor (1994)1 – Mercedes (1995)1 – Porsche (1989) Poles (with competition) 13 – Chevrolet (2022, 2021, 2020 Race #1, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 1991, 1990, 1988)9 – Honda (2024, 2023 2020 Race #2, 2018, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996)6 – Cosworth (1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1980)5 – Ford (2002, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1992)1 – Ilmor (1994)1 – Porsche (1989) INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturer Championships (since 1979) Chevrolet-Powered Wins in the Twin-Turbo 2.2L V6 Era (2012-present) Chevrolet-Powered Wins (All-time)

Shane van Gisbergen, driver of the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, met with the media in advance of running double duty at the Chicago Street Course. The 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native is the only driver to earn victories in both divisions at the “Windy City” circuit – scoring the win in the 2023 Cup Series race and the 2024 Xfinity Series race.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Media Availability Quotes:   You’ve been on other street courses before. How do you compare the build, the layout, the configuration of this one versus what you’ve raced elsewhere?“It’s a bit like Gold Coast in some ways… like the 90-degree corners and stuff, and Adelaide in some sections. But yeah, it’s different in its own way. The hardest part here is the no runoff… like turn one and turn five, going straight into a wall at the biggest braking zones, is pretty daunting. So yeah, normally you have runoff in the tricky corners, so that’s probably the hardest part about this place.”  Is there anything about the design, other than the braking spots, that jump out to you that you like or don’t like or that kind of thing? “It’s just a track, yeah. I don’t know, it’s very challenging. It’s difficult, but nothing out of the ordinary, I guess.”  Since you have a win, is there anything you have asked your team to maybe experiment with here just to see if it works on a Cup car and if you like it on a road course?“We did that at Mexico, and we’ll continue to make it better here. So yeah, it’s been good to try a few things. It’s difficult here because it’s a closed sort of practice…what you turn up with is what you’re stuck with. It wasn’t a risk at Mexico, we could change it if it wasn’t very good. But yeah, we just keep trying to make the car better. There’s some feelings I’ve struggled with in the car the last couple of years and it’s nice to try some things. But yeah, we can obviously — you know, we’re in a nice position now having won a race. And it may change our strategy. If we’re in a position to get a playoff point, we’ll probably try and get that, but that’ll put us deep in the field for the next stage. So yeah, there’s a bit of a toss-up there what we’re going to do, but it’s a nice position to be in. And yeah, you’re right, we can try some stuff now.”   When you come back to Chicago, do you feel any special connection to this city where you got your first win?“Yeah, I do. This place is pretty cool to me every time I come back. I hate cities, so I don’t really like the place. But when you get here, it’s pretty cool. You know, I have great memories here. This place has changed my life, so I’m going to have special memories of this place forever. But yeah, not enough grass for me (laughs).”  Four playoff spots remain in the final eight races of the regular season. Even though you’re currently locked in, how safe do you feel in the spot you’re in, and is a second win a must? “I don’t know… someone brought that up the other day, but I try not to think about those things. You know, we’re still — we won a race, which is extremely hard to do here. And yeah, we just got to focus on our own thing and it should work out. We’ll be fine.”  I know the win obviously puts you in a great position for the playoffs, but is there something to be said for building some momentum for you and your team in this stretch here? Obviously Chicago, that you’ve had a lot of success at, and then going to Sonoma, another road course, kind of building toward the playoffs?“Yeah, and our oval stuff really was getting better and better. We had a bad week at Pocono, but again at Atlanta, I felt like we made a huge step and a huge gain from earlier in the year at Atlanta. We were running up front, even before half the field got taken out. But I was having some great times there and learning. You know, I had learned so much since the start of the year. I felt really comfortable up front, so yeah, I think we’re really still learning, getting better every week. It’s been a really fun road to be a part of this, I’m enjoying it. And then, as I’ve said before, road courses are just a bonus for us. We know we’re going to be good and we can just focus on trying to get results there.”  Joey (Logano) was up here just a minute ago and he was talking about how he still feels like the rest of the field is trying to catch up to someone like you who has so much road and street experience and skill. Do you feel like the rest of the field has made strides in the last couple of years in this race when it comes to this competition?“Yeah, I can just flip what he says and that’s what I feel on ovals. You know, that’s the reasons why I’m doing Summer Shootout and stuff, just trying to get experience on ovals. These guys have been doing left-handers since they were 10 years old. You know, they’re two completely different sports, and although there has been road racing in NASCAR forever, it’s not that much. So yeah, just the experience levels are different in what we do. And I feel like, yes, they’ve definitely gotten a lot better since the first one on this track, for sure.”  The odds basically have you head-to-head with Connor Zilich for the win on Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. How do you feel that battle will go with him with your fellow Red Bull racer?“Yeah, I feel like the odds stuff is pretty cool to read… like it means that people think nice things about me. That’s cool. But yeah, Connor (Zilisch) will be very good and very tough to beat here. He’s been amazing in those cars. I haven’t driven a Xfinity car all year and it’ll be the first time in a JRM car. So yeah, I’m looking forward to that. Looking forward to driving it tomorrow and seeing what it’s like. That Xfinity race last year was one of my favorite races. I had a lot of fun in that and those cars race really well. They’re pretty awkward and clumsy, but really fun to race.”

BELLEVILLE, KS (July 3, 2025) — Even in the thick of lapped traffic and the laps winding down, Sam Hafertepe Jr. can never be counted out.

The five-time American Sprint Car Series champion was trailing 2023 Series champion Jason Martin by several car lengths in the closing laps of Thursday’s main event at Belleville High Banks. With a pack of lapped cars ahead of them, Hafertepe soared around the top side of Turn 3 of the half-mile oval, weaved in between two lapped cars and swapped lanes to the bottom out of Turn 4 to make the pass on Martin, taking the lead and later the win on opening night of The Big One.

“I’m glad we could do that for the fans tonight,” Hafertepe said. “That was pretty awesome.”

The win comes as his fourth of the season and 82nd of his career with the Series, upholding his spot as No. 2 on the all-time wins list. Hafertepe also becomes the second winner in Series history at Belleville and the first in 10 years, following the national 360 Sprint Car tour’s debut at the track in 2015. In three career Belleville starts and first since 2009, Thursday was the Texas racer’s first trip to Victory Lane.

After a victory in the Honest Abe Roofing Dash, Hafertepe took the lead from the pole at the drop of the green flag in the 20-lap main event with Martin in tow. When Hafertepe hit lapped traffic on Lap 6, he dove low in Turn 3 to make the pass, giving Martin the high side and lots of speed coming off Turn 4 — enough to put a slide job on Hafertepe in Turn 1 to take the lead.

“I just wanted to pace [Hafertepe] and see how he was running his lines and what he was doing when we got to lapped traffic,” Martin, of Liberal, KS, said. “I knew I was good enough I could drive by him whenever the right opportunity came.”

“Early in the race, [Martin] got us because I wasn’t really running as hard as I should’ve been running at that time, but I also didn’t want to overrun my racecar either,” Hafertepe said. “Once he showed me the pace he was willing to run, I said, ‘Okay, well I’ll run that pace then.’”

Martin led the next 11 laps, dodging and weaving his way through lapped traffic with Hafertepe following. When Martin got behind Austyn Gossel in traffic on Lap 17, he dove low in Turn 3 to make the pass while Hafertepe sailed around the top. As Martin passed Gossel and slid up in front of Jeremy Huish to put them a lap down, Hafertepe shot the gap between Gossel and Huish out of Turn 4 and beat Martin to the line to retake the lead.

“I knew we would have a shot at him, but I didn’t know when,” Hafertepe said. “I followed him through all the lapped cars; I took the same lines he did. Then, right there at the end, I said, ‘I’m not taking the same line, no matter what happens.’

“We had, I think, two-to-go or something like that, and I just knew, ‘Alright, no matter what, I’m not gonna follow him this time,’ and it paid off for us.”

More lapped traffic appeared in front of Hafertepe as he rounded Turns 3–4 on the final lap, and Martin made a last-ditch effort off the bottom lane out of Turn 4, but both were not enough to slow Hafertepe as he crossed the finish line to collect the $4,000 grand prize.

“I kinda chose where I went according to where we had been earlier in the race,” Hafertepe said. “I knew I probably couldn’t clear a lot of guys on the outside, so I just chose to stay up there to keep my speed up. I didn’t want to pinch myself on the bottom and then [Martin] get another run on the top.”

Martin crossed the finish line second, only .148 seconds behind Hafertepe. Though he collected his second-straight podium finish and third of the season, he said he knows where to be better with $10,000 on the line for the winner of Friday’s main event.

“I’ve just gotta be smarter at making decisions on the fly,” Martin said. “Everybody thinks it’s easy to do, but at 140 miles-an-hour, things happen pretty fast, and I just made the wrong one. Tomorrow, I’ve just gotta be a little sharper and make the right one.”

Nebraska racer Joey Danley crossed in third to bank his best career Series finish. Matt Covington started and finished fourth, while Nebraska racer Stu Snyder scored the Hard Charger honors in his drive from 10th to finish fifth.

UP NEXT

The American Sprint Car Series returns to action at Belleville on Friday, July 4, in the finale of the inaugural running of The Big One — $10,000 in store for the winner. Tickets are on sale in advance; click here to purchase.

If you can’t be at the track to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 2. 36-Jason Martin[2]; 3. 14-Joey Danley[3]; 4. 95-Matt Covington[4]; 5. 1X-Bryant Wiedeman[8]; 6. 23S-Stuart Snyder[10]; 7. 71-Brady Baker[9]; 8. 52-Blake Hahn[11]; 9. 2B-Garrett Benson[5]; 10. 4-Cameron Martin[6]; 11. 88R-Ryder Laplante[12]; 12. 45X-Kyler Johnson[7]; 13. 17W-Harli White[13]; 14. 88J-Jeremy Huish[16]; 15. 16G-Austyn Gossel[14]; 16. 91-Jeff Stasa[18]; 17. 2J-Zach Blurton[19]; 18. 7C-Chris Morgan[20]; 19. 10C-Jeremy Campbell[22]; 20. 10-Landon Britt[24]; 21. 88C-Brogan Carder[15]; 22. 88-Terry Easum[23]; 23. 17-Connor Lee[21]; 24. 5D-Zach Daum[17]

LaSALLE, IL — July 3, 2025 — Racing in unfamiliar territory for the majority of the 2025 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models season, Tyler Millwood completed a major goal in his rookie season.

The Kingston, GA driver had a hard-charging night at the Hell Tour’s return to LaSalle Speedway with 10 spots gained to win his first Feature race.

Overall points leader Jason Feger controlled the pace early by outrunning Dillon McCowan with his No. 25 Longhorn Chassis holding the high side of the track. At the same time, his title opponent, Tyler Erb, performed slide jobs from a third-place starting spot to catch Feger.

Erb caught up to Feger’s bumper when he got caught in lap traffic, as both the high and low lanes were blocked. Feger attempted the middle lane, but could not keep his car stuck to the line as he slid up the track. “Terbo” used the high line to take the lead, but could not make the line stick around Turns 1-2 as the “High Side Hustler” crossed back under Erb to retake the lead.

Feger paced the field with Erb riding behind until a mechanical failure at the halfway flags ended his hopes to battle against Feger for the win.

Behind the leaders, Millwood climbed up onto the podium on the lap that Erb brought out the caution after starting in 10th place and using the cushion to his advantage. Millwood built momentum on the top lane to outrun his opponents into the corner for clearance.

When the cushion began to falter on the final restart, Millwood had to chop a 1.3-second gap on Feger as lapped traffic played a hand for the final time in the Freedom 40.

While Feger got blocked in his lane, Millwood crept to the middle line to crowd Feger in behind the lapped car. The two stayed door-to-door as the No. 31M slowly separated from Feger until he was fully clear for the lead with four laps remaining.

At the helm of the pack, Millwood crafted a 1.4-second gap to Feger as he became the 115th different Summer Nationals winner in the first visit to LaSalle since 2021.

“It’s awesome ‘cause this ain’t easy,” Millwood said. “It might look easy sometimes, but it’s not. This is really hard and it took every ounce of my knowledge to say ‘Can I move out and try to get by (Feger) there.’ This is badass, and hopefully we can get us a couple more (wins).”

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 31M-Tyler Millwood[10]; 2. 25F-Jason Feger[2]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb[6]; 4. 75-Dillon McCowan[1]; 5. 5S-Kyle Hammer[14]; 6. 29-Christian Hanger[19]; 7. 27M-Rodney Melvin[12]; 8. 5-Mark Whitener[18]; 9. 28B-Carson Brown[9]; 10. 33-Mike Harrison[11]; 11. 388-Jackson Hise[7]; 12. 38-Thomas Hunziker[20]; 13. 15-Clay Stuckey[15]; 14. 17SS-Brenden Smith[22]; 15. 21B-Rich Bell[17]; 16. 55X-Mike Lofgren[16]; 17. (DNF) 14-Haiden Cowan[5]; 18. (DNF) 14JR-Trey Mills[3]; 19. (DNF) 55-Eli Johnson[13]; 20. (DNF) 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 21. (DNF) 3-Dale Markham[21]; 22. (DNF) 81F-Jadon Frame[8]

Tyler Nicely Muscles Towards Fourth Summit Modified Nationals Triumph in 2025 at LaSalle, Claims Fourth in All-Time Wins

Tyler Nicely is on a different level from his closest competition in the 2025 DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals tour.

Through the last five Features that the Owensboro, KY native has contended in, he has won the previous four as Nicely marches towards a second career title in the last three seasons.

Nicely rolled off from third place for the 25-lap Feature, following behind leader Cole Falloway and Ray Bollinger before getting by Bollinger’s No. 77 machine on the bottom line through Turns 3-4.

Nicely and Bollinger’s battle for second helped Falloway get to a 2.4-second lead until lap traffic helped Nicely get back into contention against the No. 66 UMP Modified.

Falloway left enough of a space in the bottom lane for Nicely to fill the gap and race side-by-side with his fellow hometown driver for the win.

Nicely’s pace on the bottom after getting by the traffic in front helped the No. 25 Elite Chassis secure the top spot on Lap 18.

While Falloway dropped out of the Feature with an issue on Lap 20, Nicely built a two-second advantage over Jeff Curl over the final five laps as he surpassed Bollinger for fourth on the all-time wins list of Summit Modified Nationals with No. 15 at LaSalle.

“It’s always fun,” Nicely said. “Cole’s a good, hard, clean racer, and I wasn’t gonna do anything there to roughen him up or try to take myself out of it. It feels pretty good to be back (in Victory Lane).”

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals celebrate Independence Day in the 2025 Illinois finale at Red Hill Raceway on Friday night, July 4.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App.

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 2. 12-Jeff Curl[6]; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger[1]; 4. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 5. 0-Travis Kohler[8]; 6. 09-Michael Ledford[18]; 7. 1-Nash Hilmes[4]; 8. 45H-Chase Holland[11]; 9. 5-Steven Brooks[10]; 10. 96M-Mike McKinney[21]; 11. 110-Landen Miller[12]; 12. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[16]; 13. 99-Hunt Gossum[15]; 14. 75-Daniel Adam[9]; 15. 0F-Matt Fabrizius[13]; 16. 1W-Bob Pohlman[25]; 17. 73-Mark Rhoades[7]; 18. (DNF) 66-Cole Falloway[2]; 19. (DNF) 75M-Shane Mecum[22]; 20. (DNF) 27G-Jason Garver[19]; 21. (DNF) 68W-Damion Wilmoth[17]; 22. (DNF) 10M-Chris Morefield[14]; 23. (DNF) 2M-Scott McDonald[24]; 24. (DNF) 44T-Wyatt Thompson[20]; 25. (DNS) 74-Donnie Boyer

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 3, 2025) – There are few pairings in dirt racing quite as strong as Bobby Pierce and Victory Lane at Deer Creek Speedway.

In his first NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 in 2023, he won. Pierce came back later that year for his first World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision start at the track and won again. When the Gopher 50 returned to the World of Outlaws schedule in 2024, he won it.

And in Thursday night’s kickoff to Gopher 50 weekend, the “Smooth Operator” took the checkers in Spring Valley once again to make it four-straight trips to Deer Creek in which Pierce has collected at least one trophy.

“I love this track, it always races really well,” Pierce said after his sixth World of Outlaws win of the year and 19th overall triumph of 2025. “They know how to prep it good, they’re not afraid to prep it if it needs it. Our car’s really good right now.”

Pierce started the 30-lap Feature on the second row trailing Bilstein Pole Award winner Ryan Gustin and hometown hero Dustin Sorensen. Gustin won the battle of the No. 19 cars to lead early, while Sorensen lost second to Pierce five laps in.

The gap between the top two was roughly a second when Pierce got the spot, but he trimmed that down to a car length over the next five laps. Pierce made his first bid for the lead on the bottom just before halfway, but Gustin was initially able to find enough speed on the high side to hold the lead. That was until Pierce fully committed to the slide job entering Turn 3 and cleared the No. 19R, but Gustin crossed him over off of Turn 4.

The next few laps were a prime example of why Deer Creek is a fan favorite in dirt Late Model racing. Corner after corner, Pierce dove it in on the bottom and slid up in front of Gustin before Gustin cut back down and powered back ahead. Gustin tried the bottom himself on a few occasions to counter Pierce, but after half a dozen laps of back-and-forth racing, Pierce finally took command.

“What an awesome race me and Gustin had,” Pierce said. “Thanks to him for racing me clean, lot of fun there. Thanks to Deer Creek for having an awesome racetrack allowing us to race like that.”

The No. 32 started to pull away while Gustin fell into the clutches of Sorensen for second with the laps winding down. But before Pierce could ride off into the sunset, Brian Shirley slowed with a flat tire to bring out the caution, setting up a restart with three circuits remaining.

That gave the field their chance to pounce on Pierce, but they were unable to capitalize as the Oakwood, IL held on to claim another Deer Creek trophy. However, Pierce said he didn’t feel nearly as comfortable behind the wheel on the final dash to the finish as it may have looked from the grandstands.

“Worst timing for the caution, I didn’t know where to go,” Pierce said. “I really felt like I had a terrible restart through one and two, so I was pretty worried down the backstretch thinking I might get slid into three or something.”

The win came after four World of Outlaws races without a trip to Victory Lane, Pierce’s longest drought since the season-opening events at Volusia Speedway Park. But with the upcoming schedule featuring crown jewels nearly every weekend, Pierce knew how critical it was to get back into his winning ways.

“Very important just to get back in the routine of getting to win at least once every weekend, at least one,” Pierce said. “Last weekend, we just had lots of, I guess you could say bad luck, but just lots of little things that just didn’t really go my way. River Cities, I qualified bad, and from there, I couldn’t catch a break with the cautions I felt like.

“And then Ada, I had the flat tire with 10 to go, Bruening ends up having a flat and I get into him when he has a flat and it blows the deck out. Still ran seventh, and then obviously the brake issue [at Nodak Speedway], that was probably the win last weekend that got away. I felt like I had a really good car that definitely, in my opinion would have won. So it’s nice to finally have a night that went really, really smooth for us.”

While Gustin came out on the losing end of the sliderfest with Pierce, his runner-up result at one of his home tracks was his best World of Outlaws result since his most recent win at Swainsboro Raceway in March.

“We were alright there, Bobby just kind of found another gear once he got by us there,” Gustin said. “Was able to run around that top a lot straighter than we were, I kind of had to back into it because we were tight. As soon as you back into it here, you just lose all your speed on exit. All in all, we’ll take it.”

Bringing it home third was Tyler Bruening, who had a front-row seat for Pierce and Gustin’s battle but was unable to make it a three-way fight for the win.

“Bobby was pretty good, he’s good at using the wall even for a little bit of traction,” Bruening said. “I was good on the bottom, I just needed a little more dig through the center getting off to get that little squirt to get back up to speed. You’ve got to slow down so much here running the bottom.”

Tanner English finished fourth for his first top five of the season, while Tim McCreadie backed up his Nodak win from four days prior with a fifth-place effort.

RACE NOTES:

Tyler Bruening set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Tyler Bruening won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Dustin Sorensen won Real American Beer Heat 1.

Bobby Pierce won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Tyler Bruening won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Ryan Gustin won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Ryan Gustin won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Drake Troutman won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Drake Troutman was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.

Ryan Gustin won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.

Tanner English was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Nick Hoffman was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Brent Larson was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Drake Troutman was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.

Chad Simpson was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Boom Briggs was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

UP NEXT: The Gopher 50 continues with an Independence Day spectacular for the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision on Friday, July 4. Tickets will be available at the gate.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 4. 96-Tanner English[6]; 5. 9M-Tim McCreadie[11]; 6. 9-Nick Hoffman[7]; 7. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[10]; 8. B1-Brent Larson[8]; 9. 22*-Drake Troutman[18]; 10. 25-Chad Simpson[12]; 11. 74X-Ethan Dotson[17]; 12. 99B-Boom Briggs[5]; 13. 49-Jake Timm[14]; 14. 0-Jake O’Neil[22]; 15. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[24]; 16. 3S-Brian Shirley[9]; 17. 09-Michael Leach[21]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[2]; 19. 2-Cody Overton[23]; 20. 76-Blair Nothdurft[16]; 21. 9T-Tim Isenberg[15]; 22. 32S-Chris Simpson[20]; 23. 22-Nick Panitzke[13]; 24. 1X-Aaron Marrant[19]

Jul 3, 2025 | Featured, Megan Meyer, Pre-Race Releases, Rachel Meyer, Special Announcements

The powerhouse duo of Megan and Rachel Meyer are back and ready to shake things up once again—this time in the newly launched IHRA Nitro Outlaw Series. The two sisters will pilot their A/Fuel dragsters in the first two events of the five-race season, kicking off July 9–12 at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, followed by July 23–26 at Milan Dragway in Michigan.

Each event will feature Friday night qualifying and Saturday eliminations under the lights, headlined by Top Fuel and Nitro Funny Car classes along with Pro Mod, Pro Nitrous, and full Pro-Am sportsman action throughout the weekend. The series marks a new era of entertainment-focused drag racing, blending nostalgia and modern horsepower to deliver an unforgettable experience.

For Megan, this marks her second competition of the year after racing in the high-stakes $15K Top Alcohol Dragster Shootout at Cecil County Dragway, where she was a top contender and made it to the semi-finals. Before that, she closed out the 2023 season finishing second in points with her Gunk dragster in the Nitro Chaos Championship.

Rachel, meanwhile, hasn’t been in the seat since her 2023 win at Mo-Kan Dragway, where she famously defeated her sister Megan in the Nitro Chaos semi-finals. Now, she’s set to make a highly anticipated return—driven by family legacy and a bit of sibling rivalry.

“I’m beyond excited to get back behind the wheel,” said Rachel Meyer. “My husband has won an Ironman trophy before, but not me, so I love that I have the opportunity to try to win one and tie with my husband.”

For both sisters, the opportunity to race together again—especially under the IHRA banner for the first time with their father, Randy Meyer, feels personal.

“We’ve raced against each other before many times in Top Alcohol Dragster and Super Comp and Junior Dragster classes, but doing this new series together adds something special,” said Megan Meyer. “The IHRA Nitro Outlaw format brings in a fresh crowd and a new level of excitement that I’m proud to be part of. This is the kind of grassroots energy that drag racing needs.”

The Meyer sisters will bring along strong sponsor support from longtime partners GUNK, and NGK Spark Plugs, as well as new to the team, Maxima Racing Oils, all of whom are helping power their return to the IHRA stage. Both dragsters are known for their eye-catching looks, record-setting runs, and the family-run crew that makes it all possible.

The IHRA Nitro Outlaw Series kicks off July 9–12 at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, followed by July 23–26 at Milan Dragway in Michigan. Each event runs Friday night qualifying and Saturday eliminations under the lights. Fans can expect side-by-side 300+ mph nitro action, full pit access, and a high-energy atmosphere at both venues.

Summertime is a good time to be on the World of Outlaws tourCONCORD, NC (July 3, 2025) – Huset’s Speedway opened the bank vault two weeks ago, and that door isn’t closing anytime soon.The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is now fully immersed in the Summer of Money. As temperatures rise, so do the purses for the country’s best Sprint Car drivers.The major money chasing began in a huge way at Huset’s. The BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards put up two six-figure paydays, including the year’s highest with a $250,000-to-win finale. Michael “Buddy” Kofoid banked both big checks to become only the third driver in the sport’s history with a pair of six-figure scores in a week.That was only the beginning of what promises to be a lucrative stretch during the warmest season of the year. Many races paying at least $20,000 are on the calendar, including two more six-figure payouts. Wallets will be stuffed. Bank accounts will be booming. Life-changing money is up for grabs.The Summer of Money is here.Let’s take a look at the lucrative stretch ahead:Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic presented by dac Vitamins and Minerals (July 16) | $15,000-to-win | Attica Raceway Park: Brad Doty puts a lot of effort into the growth of the sport through a variety of avenues, and his contributions continue with a prestigious event during a popular week of Ohio Sprint Car racing.The Brad Doty Classic always brings a stout field of cars to Attica Raceway Park as the sport’s best face off with Ohio’s stout local contingent. A $15,000 check awaits the winner of this year’s running.David Gravel claimed last year’s edition, while Kyle Larson has won three of the last five. Nobody has topped more than Donny Schatz’s record tally of four.Kings Royal (July 19-20) | $25,000/$200,000-to-win | Eldora Speedway: Tony Stewart continues to make Earl Baltes proud as he helps push the Kings Royal to another level in 2025. This year’s 42nd running is set to hand out a record $200,000 in riches to the winner. It’ll be only the fifth Sprint Car race ever to award at least a $200,000 payday. The purse also boasts a whopping $5,000 to simply make the main event.The weekend will begin with the Knight Before the Kings Royal, and the winner will bank $25,000. More than $500,000 in purse money is up for grabs over the two nights at “The Big E” with the World of Outlaws.Steve Kinser owns the record for the most Kings Royal crowns, having been coronated on seven occasions. Donny Schatz has six on his résumé and will be aiming to tie “The King” and earn the 14th six-figure payday of his career. David Gravel grabbed his first crown last year.C&D Rigging Summer Nationals (July 25-26) | $12,000/$20,000-to-win | Williams Grove Speedway: It’s more than just bragging rights on the line when the World of Outlaws face off with the Pennsylvania Posse on the final weekend of July.The Williams Grove Speedway staple puts a $20,000 grand prize up for grabs as the two sides battle at the famed 1/2 mile.David Gravel is the defending Summer Nationals champion, but it was the PA Posse getting the upper hand at the most recent Series visit to Williams Grove in May when Anthony Macri kept the Morgan Cup in the “Keystone State.”Ironman 55 (Aug. 1-2) | $12,000/$25,000-to-win | I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park: The year’s most demanding race deserves a big payday, and that’s exactly what the Ironman 55 will deliver. The grueling 55-lapper tests the skill, stamina, and endurance of all who qualify for the finale. Wrestling 900-horsepower beasts for 55 circuits around a 1/3-mile facility with a track record in the nine-second bracket… It’s not for the weak.A $25,000 check and the title of Ironman await the driver who can conquer I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park. Last year, Kyle Larson equaled Craig Dollansky for the most Ironman 55 titles with his third, driving from 12th to Victory Lane.NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s (Aug. 6-9) | $12,000/$12,000/$4,000/$195,000-to-win | Knoxville Raceway: There is no Sprint Car race more prestigious than the Knoxville Nationals, and it comes with a healthy payday, too. The winner of this year’s 64th running will take home a record $195,000 along with cementing their name in the history books.But the money at the Knoxville Nationals is about so much more than the winner’s share. The purse constructed for Saturday’s finale alone exceeds $800,000. Simply making the main event guarantees a $15,000 payday, and each position gained adds more money through the entire field.The last two editions, and three of the last four, have belonged to Kyle Larson. This year, he could join Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz as the third driver to top three in a row.L.G. Everist Huset’s Shootout (Aug. 30-31) | $15,000/$25,000-to-win | Huset’s Speedway: If you thought the High Bank Nationals would be the only time Huset’s is paying good money in 2025, think again.The Greatest Show on Dirt returns to the Brandon, SD oval on Labor Day weekend for the Huset’s Shootout. The two-day event begins with a $15,000-to-win main event before culminating in a $25,000-to-win/$1,750-to-start Sunday showdown. Add it all up, and Huset’s is offering more than a million dollars in purse money to World of Outlaws teams in 2025.Last year, the Huset’s Shootout was swapped to the High Bank Nationals after weather interfered in June, and it was Buddy Kofoid taking what would be the first of three straight six-figure Huset’s paydays.Dennis Roth Classic (Sept. 19-20) | $12,000/$83,000-to-win | Thunderbowl Raceway: A two-week stay in California concludes with a nod to one of the sport’s most impactful car owners. And with the amount Dennis Roth has invested in Sprint Car racing, it’s only fitting the race that salutes him serves up a hearty reward.Thunderbowl Raceway’s Dennis Roth Classic winner will add $83,000 to the bank account for the second year in a row. The event will also hand out a variety of meaty prizes from Qualifying all the way to the final checkered flag of the night.This year marks the fourth edition of the event and second under World of Outlaws sanctioning. Rico Abreu claimed the inaugural, the second went to Justyn Cox, and last year, Carson Macedo swept the finale – and still likely has some meat left over in the freezer.NO FALL-ING OFF: September 22 may be the official end of summer, but it doesn’t mean the World of Outlaws stars are done stuffing their wallets.Multiple lucrative races remain when the calendar adjusts to the fall season, and they start on the very first weekend. Sheldon Haudenschild’s Buckeye Brawl presented by NOS Energy Drink is bringing the World of Outlaws back to Findlay, OH’s Millstream Speedway on Friday, Sept. 26. Teams will aim for a $17,000 prize as a nod to Haudenschild’s car number on the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing ride.Only a week later brings the final piece of Sprint Car racing’s Triple Crown. The World of Outlaws go head-to-head with the PA Posse at Williams Grove Speedway’s National Open with $75,000 heading to the champ, marking the sixth World of Outlaws race of the year paying at least $75K.Fast forward three weeks where the rescheduled Jason Johnson Classic can be found. Mother Nature had other plans for the original date in April, but teams will still make it to Colcord, OK’s Arrowhead Speedway to honor the “Ragin’ Cajun” and race for $20,000 on Saturday, Oct. 25.And the big money chasing goes all the way to the season-concluding World of Outlaws World Finals. The Dirt Track at Charlotte will wrap up the 2025 campaign on Nov. 5-8 with a pair of $15,000-to-win races followed by a $25,000-to-win finale.For tickets to all World of Outlaws events, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap of the World of Outlaws season live on DIRTVision.ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/summer-of-money-several-big-paydays-await-world-of-outlaws-teams/FAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES Honda Indy 200 at Mid-OhioMid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio Race Advance July 4-6 Detroit (July 3, 2025) – The tenth round of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, marks the beginning of a jam-packed July, featuring a four-weekend stretch that includes five races.  Chevrolet-powered drivers have had recent success at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, winning three of the last four races, including Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, winning the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race where drivers were able to utilize the hybrid power unit. The 26-year-old Mexican was joined on the podium by fellow Team Chevy driver Scott McLaughlin, the winner of the 2022 race with Team Penske.  The Team Chevy drivers and teams will face a few challenging wrinkles at the annual Fourth of July trip to the center of the Buckeye State. First, after a complete resurfacing before the 2024 race, the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio road course underwent its first significant change in 1989, with notable modifications at the end of the long back straight. Utilizing the existing apex curbing, the right-hand Turn 4 saw the banking lowered from 4 degrees to 2 degrees, and the large gravel trap known as ‘China Beach’ was regraded to flatten out a downhill grade.  Next, there are significant investments in drainage to improve raceability in the rain, as well as over 5,000 feet of new barrier and fencing to enhance safety. Lastly, after several years as an 80-lap event, the Mid-Ohio round returns to its original 90-lap distance, the race distance before 2020.  Chevrolet at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course  Chevrolet-powered drivers have made 240 starts across 26 races (25 seasons) at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with 153 of those starts coming in the 14 races since the introduction of the twin-turbo, 2.2L V6 engine in 2012. O’Ward started on the outside of the front row in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to score Team Chevy’s 12th win at the Lexington, Ohio road course, tying them for the top spot. Six teams have accounted for a manufacturer’s best 13 pole positions, including Team Penske’s seven poles from Will Power (4), Josef Newgarden (1), Simon Pagenaud (1) and Danny Sullivan (1). Chevrolet-powered drivers have led a total of 1034 laps of the 2.258-mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio road course, with Will Power (178), Emerson Fittipaldi (168), Josef Newgarden (159) and Michael Andretti (152) all leading over 100 laps with Bowtie power.  Tune-In Alert Friday·     NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice #1 – 4:30pm (ET)/3:30pm (CT)/2:30pm (MT)/1:30pm (PT) – FS2/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218  Saturday·     NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice #2 – 10:30am (ET)/9:30am (CT)/8:30am (MT)/7:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218·     NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying – 2:30pm (ET)/1:30pm (CT)/12:30pm (MT)/11:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 Sunday·     NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm Up – 9:30am (ET)/8:30am (CT)/7:30am (MT)/6:30am (PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218·     Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio (90 laps) – 1:30pm (ET)/12:30pm (CT)/11:30am (MT)/10:30am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: A.J. FOYT RACING David Malukas, No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet: You are on a roll with strong qualifying runs and a great recovery at Road America. Do you think that marks a turning point for you and the team? “I feel like we’ve had a turning point since the month of May. Having the entire month together with the team helped build our relationships with each other and the car. We’ve been having some good speed building with each race and we are excited to see what comes next.” You have finished ninth, sixth and 12th in three starts at Mid-Ohio. What do you like about the Mid-Ohio track? “Mid-Ohio is one of my favorite tracks to drive around. If I were to pick a track to just do laps on, Mid-Ohio would be up there. I’ve managed to understand the track well and get a good rhythm of speed.” What do you find challenging at that track? “Mid-Ohio is all the about the flow from turns 4 to 9. One mistake throughout those corners, and you’ll be off line throughout the rest losing lots of time. It’s a track where being consistent is very important.” You have five races in four weeks. Is it tougher on the driver or the crew and why? “Definitely tougher on the crew. We get to have a few days between each race to rest and recover while the crew needs to transport the car to and from and rebuild the car for the next race. Their jobs never stop and deserve lots of praise for what they do.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet:  You are on a roll with top five runs in the like the last four races and you’ve moved to third in the Indycar.com Power Rankings. What are your thoughts on that, and what will it take to keep that hot streak going? “Obviously, very, very proud to be, you know, p3 in the power rankings, and to be finishing the top five this much. And honestly, I think we’ve had really good cars, we’ve done a really good job with engineering and strategy and pit stops. Plus staying clean and having good races. I think if we continue that, we will be able to continue fighting for podiums and wins.” What do you like about Mid-Ohio? “Overall , it’s just a very fun track, a very technical track, and I’m very excited to be going back there with last year’s success when we finished 10th and got the Biggest Mover award because we started 21st.” You have two top 10s in six starts at Mid-Ohio. What do you find challenging about that track? “It’s challenging because it’s really hard to pass there. So qualifying is important. It’s a rather technical track, but everybody’s run it so much that everybody’s also really good. So being perfect is going to be important.” Since you, you mentioned that passing is hard, how did you go from 17th to ninth? “I passed a bunch of people, and we had a good pit strategy. That was what made that race, but we were one of the only people passing. I’d say the best places to pass are probably into the keyhole, which is, I believe, turn two, and then down the back straight into four, which has now been repaved. So, you don’t really know how that’s going to play out.” You have five races in four weeks. Is it tougher on the driver or the crew? And why? “Probably tougher on the crew, because they’ve got to be at the track early and stay late working on the car versus the drivers. We get a little bit more downtime on the race weekends, and we get to go home between races. I’ll be staying out between the races this year, so, I’ll be on the same schedule as the crew, which I’m looking forward to. I think that’ll be a lot of fun.” What are you doing right now (at time of interview on Tuesday)?“I think I broke a valve on my Corvette, so I’m over doing valve covers and ignition coils. I’m over here working on cars before I leave. What else is new? Hey A.J. would be proud.” ARROW MCLAREN Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:  “I’m excited to head back to Mid-Ohio to defend my win from last year. This is a great racetrack and I know we’re capable of coming away with another victory here this weekend. We didn’t have the weekend we wanted in Road America, so this is the place to get back on the right footing and fight near the top.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:  “We had our best result of the season at Road America, and it’s definitely something to build on. I feel like we’re starting to hit our stride, so that makes me even more excited to get on track this weekend at Mid-Ohio. We’re starting to get to tracks where I raced with Arrow McLaren last year, so I feel like our best is ahead of us.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet: “We’re entering a busy and important stretch of the season with a lot of races in a row, but we’ve got to focus on one race at a time. That starts with Mid-Ohio this weekend. We’ve been fast on road courses all season and I don’t see why that would change here, especially a place this team has won in the past. I’m ready to get this stretch going.”  ED CARPENTER RACING Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet: “I can’t wait to get the summer stretch started here this weekend in Mid-Ohio! It is a track that I have always enjoyed and I look forward to continuing to develop our road course package there this weekend.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet: “I am looking forward to Mid-Ohio! It was my strongest weekend last year and was my best finish in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at that point. We should have a good weekend, we are becoming stronger and stronger the more races we do this year. I am excited to see what we can do this weekend!”  TEAM PENSKE Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet:  “The Mid-Ohio weekend around the Fourth of July is one of the coolest race weekends on the INDYCAR SERIES schedule. It is really a perfect example of how to celebrate the holiday with fans camping all over the grounds with red, white and blue everywhere. You can smell the cookouts each afternoon. And Mid-Ohio is a classic American road course that puts on an entertaining race. Chevrolet belongs in Victory Lane there on the Fourth of July weekend, and the PPG Chevrolet team is prepared to do just that.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet:  “This weekend’s race at Mid-Ohio is a big one for me and the ‘Thirsty Threes.’ We’re bringing a new-look Odyssey Battery Chevy to the track; primarily black instead of the white one we won with in 2022. It looks amazing and will look good in Victory Lane again. We need that, for sure. Once we get that first win of the season I think we will go on a roll, both the 3 car team and my teammates. But it’s also my first Fourth of July as an American citizen. One of the things I love about this country is how our independence and our military are honored and respected through holidays like the Fourth. Mid-Ohio is a great track for this holiday weekend.” Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet:  “Really getting into the meat of the season this weekend at Mid-Ohio. July is going to be a massively busy month for everyone. Obviously, we want to have multiple wins by this point in the season, but we’ve had super quick Verizon Chevys for most of the year. But in INDYCAR you need more than just speed; you need the proper strategy and a fair amount of good fortune to make that strategy work. We just have not been on the good side of that so far this season, but it can turn in an instant.”

Chevrolet at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Chevrolet wins at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 12 2024 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2022 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske (pictured above)2020 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2017 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2014 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing1993 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1992 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1991 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1990 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing 1988 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Patrick Racing Chevrolet poles at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 13 2022 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2021 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2019 – Will Power – Team Penske2017 – Will Power – Team Penske2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2015 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing2014 – Sebastien Bourdais – KV Racing Technology2013 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Andretti Global2012 – Will Power – Team Penske1991 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing1990 – Michael Andretti – Newman Haas Racing 1988 – Danny Sullivan – Team Penske  Chevrolet podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 33 Chevrolet podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by driver: Will Power (7), Emerson Fittipaldi (4), Michael Andretti (3), Josef Newgarden (3), Al Unser Jr. (3), Mario Andretti (2), Scott McLaughlin (2), Simon Pagenaud (2), Sebastien Bourdais (1), Rick Mears (1), Pato O’Ward (1), Bob Rahal (1), Danny Sullivan (1) and Paul Tracy (1).  Chevrolet podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by team: Team Penske (19), Newman Haas Racing (6), Galles Racing (4), Arrow McLaren (1), Chip Ganassi Racing (1), KV Racing Technology (1) and Patrick Racing (1) Chevrolet laps led at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: 1034 Chevrolet laps led at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by driver: Will Power (178), Emerson Fittipaldi (168), Michael Andretti (152), Scott Dixon (67), Pato O’Ward (52), Scott McLaughlin (49), Mario Andretti (44), Sebastien Bourdais (38), Ryan Hunter-Reay (30), Juan Montoya (30), Simon Pagenaud (23), Paul Tracy (23), Al Unser Jr. (11), Helio Castroneves (6), James Hinchcliffe (2), and Danny Sullivan (2) Chevrolet laps led at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course by team: Team Penske (573), Newman Haas Racing (196), Chip Ganassi Racing (67), Patrick Racing (63), Arrow McLaren (52), KV Racing Technology (38), Andretti Global (32), Galles Racing (11), and Ed Carpenter Racing (2) HISTORICAL INFORMATION Manufacturer history at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Wins (with competition) 12 – Chevrolet (2024, 2022, 2021, 2020 Race #1, 2017, 2016, 2014, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989)12 – Honda (2023, 2020 Race #2, 2019, 2018, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2001, 2000, 1999 1997, 1996)6 – Cosworth (1987, 1986, 1986, 1984, 1983, 1980)2 – Ford (2002, 1998)1 – Ilmor (1994)1 – Mercedes (1995)1 – Porsche (1989) Poles (with competition) 13 – Chevrolet (2022, 2021, 2020 Race #1, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 1991, 1990, 1988)9 – Honda (2024, 2023 2020 Race #2, 2018, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996)6 – Cosworth (1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1980)5 – Ford (2002, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1992)1 – Ilmor (1994)1 – Porsche (1989) INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturer Championships (since 1979) Chevrolet-Powered Wins in the Twin-Turbo 2.2L V6 Era (2012-present) Chevrolet-Powered Wins (All-time)